Bearing Despair
by AngelPines
Summary: "So, I'm stuck inside an academy for gifted kids, currently under the control of-" "The great Monokuma!" "... yeah. I'm surrounded by some pretty interesting people, and we're all-" "Being forced into a glorious game of mutual killing! Isn't that right, my star pupil?" "This isn't going to go well, just to be clear." M for graphic violence and murder. Discontinued!
1. Despair has a Plush Face

**Disclaimer: Hey! I'm AngelPines, Angel to my buddies, and I have no clue how I ended up getting hooked onto this fandom.**

 **I stumbled across it during one of my many escapades around YouTube, and me being the person who enjoys plenty of violence and hurt/comfort, picked up on it immediately. It suited my specialties in writing, and I decided to try it out.** **This is a mix of the anime, game, and manga, so dialogue varies time to time, with a few other things. Not everything is exactly the same. But hey! It's a fanfiction. Nothing's ever written in stone.**

 **Another thing: I don't do swears. So those are also edited a bit. Now that I've ranted enough... let's get this show on the road!**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

" **Reading** "

* * *

"Hey, uh, J-pssssssssssh? So, what do you think? Is it adorable or what?"

"Oh, shove off. You know I've been working on this project for weeks. It's the most advanced thing this school's ever seen."

"Psssssshhhh-J-psssh? Y-you're kinda scaring me. I-I don't like this game anymore. Maybe we should just stop-hey! No, g-give him back! J-pssssssssssh!"

"Please, it's not meant for what you're planning! All this talk about despair and stuff, it-it isn't right-pssssssssshhhh!? What is that thing you're holding? What are you-no. J-pssssssh, please, no! No! J-PSSSSSSSHHH!"

* * *

Darkness. That was the first thing I picked up on. Could just be because my eyes were closed, but that's besides the point.

My head was buzzing, and I couldn't quite say why. _Should I… open my eyes now?_ I wouldn't really accomplish much laying here. Wherever 'here' was. _So… here we go!_ "Eugh… o-oh, man." Everything was spinning, and the feeling of vertigo was hard to ignore. Slowly, ever so slowly, I moved the heavy weight of my arms under me, and began to push upwards. Blinking back the crud in my eyes, I looked down. "I'm… in a classroom?"

I was passed out in an empty classroom. Huh. No wonder my face felt so sore. I was laying lopsided on my head on the desk. Running a hand on my cheek to try and get feeling back into it, I tiredly looked around. "Hmm… huh?" _Security cameras? Metal plates on the wa-were those the windows!?_ Jumping upwards-and almost falling flat on my face doing so-I rushed to the wall, and tried to grip the surface. My grip didn't do scratch. All they did do, was hurt my skin and make it red and sore. "What's going on here?"

Looking around again, I spotted a folded piece of paper sitting neatly on a desk at the front. Moving over towards it, I opened it up. The writing was not perfectly neat, and there was a childish drawing of a building in the top corner. " **Hey there, new kid!** **The next semester** **is about to start** **!** **As ya embark on new beginnings, this school will become yer new world!** **Gather in the gym at 8 for the welcoming ceremony.** " School? I don't remember signing up for a new school. Or… wait. Wh-what was I doing before I woke up? Was I d-drugged or something? _I-my mind is all... blank. Why can't I recall anything?_

"Hmm... 8, huh?" Turning to the clock, I saw it was almost said timing. "Best to move along then." _Maybe I can get answers if I go._ Moving to the door, I slid it open to reveal a darkened hallway, lit up by purple lighting that suited the odd colored walls. "Hmmm." If this were to be a school, then there should obviously be more 'students' here too. "The main hall, perhaps, would be as good a choice as any to start." The gym should be in that direction too.

As the lights changed from purple to green the further I walked along the first floor, part of me wondered who it was that brought me here, and where he was. As much as I was aware, I was a perfectly normal person. "Is that it?" I spotted an ajar door, but it was by far not what I was looking for. Strong, heavy locks surrounded almost a vault-like door, with machine guns hanging above it, stationed at the ready. _Holy c-what's going on here?_

In terms of who I was expecting when I heard voices, I didn't really prepare myself for more people my age. Adults, I was ready for. People of authority. But while this group was certainly… diverse, in appearances, it was clear we were all around the same age dynamic. "Whoa, there's actually one more of us?" A tall boy with spiky brown hair remarked in the back. "Guess this makes sixteen then."

 _Sixteen?_ "Are you alright?" A girl with blue hair asked, standing beside a boy with light brown hair and a green hoodie under a black jacket.

"I… I don't… know?" I wasn't sure. I was also unsure of how much I should talk to these people. I didn't know them, so they were strangers. Strangers were not to be trusted until a bond was formed, and then we could be called friends. "Do you know… where we are?"

"Hope's Peak Academy, I assume," a girl with lavender hair added. Quiet, just like me, and she seemed to be on the analytical side just as much as I was. Trying to pinpoint what was happening around us.

"And you are?" A boy with rectangular glasses, and an air that screamed 'I'm important so leave me be, peasant', asked snidely.

"My name? I-it's… Matsuko. Matsuko Hirota," I replied, putting more emphasis at the end. Strangers made me nervous, but I didn't want to let this person think of me so lowly. "Might I… have yours?"

"We already di-did introductions!" A girl with two dark brown braids said, glaring at me. "She can j-just go ahead and play catch-up!" I frowned at her, but the boy standing beside her, a teen with a pristine white uniform, put down her idea.

"We had already done so several times for each person who joined us. One more time is highly acceptable." I sent him a thankful look, and examined his appearance. He stood straight, almost like was constantly at attention. "I'm Kiyotaka Ishimaru, but you can call me Taka." His red eyes were unnatural, but also intriguing. "I am the Ultimate Moral Compass."

"Ultimate…?" What was that supposed to mean?

"Your t-talent," the braided girl said, picking up on my mumbling. "I'm T-Toko Fukawa: Ultimate Writing Prodigy."

"Writing," I repeated, smiling at the idea. Books was something I took to heart, and the idea of being so successful at a young age was impressive. "That's really cool." The faint smile she gave, despite trying to hide it, showed I said the right thing.

"Hi, I'm Sayaka Maizono. I'm the Ultimate Pop Sensation." The blue haired girl was definitely more cheerful than some of the others, having a pleasant smile on her face.

"Yo! The name's Leon Kuwata." He was dressed as a rocker, with many piercings, rings, and his beard was in a ponytail. Not someone I would partake in a conversation with on a regular basis, but he seemed… nice enough? "Ultimate Baseball Star."

"I am Hifumi Yamada, but you call me by my nickname 'The Alpha and the Omega'! I don't mind," a large teen said, adjusting his glasses. "If that does not give it away, I am the Ultimate Fanfic Creator."

"Okay… nice to… meet you." As long as he wasn't one of those creepy writers, then I'm fine with speaking to him. Writers of all kinds are fine, but it depends on their personalities. Hifumi was just… pushing some weird buttons.

"I'm Aoi Asahina!" A girl with tan skin in sport shorts and red jacket greeted. "But my friends just call me Hina." _Wow, she's a ball of energy._ "I'm the Ultimate Swimming Pro." So my assumption with sports was correct.

"I'm Chihiro Fujisaki," a quiet girl said. She had short light brown hair, soft green eyes, and was probably the second smallest person here. I… I was the smallest, at five feet. "The Ultimate Programmer…" she looked at me curiously, and I gave her a shy smile. She seemed to be on the timid side, and the small action seemed to make her happy as she returned the expression.

"It's nice to meet you, Chihiro," I replied. I turned to the lavender haired girl, seeing her looking off to the side in thought. "Uh…"

She turned to look at me, keeping her stoic expression. "My name is… Kyoko Kirigiri. Don't bother asking about my talent."

"O-oh. Um, alright." I was shot down quite quickly, and it was evident I would not be getting any more out of the mystery girl that was Kyoko.

"Hi!" A strawberry blonde cheerfully said, smiling at me. Her hair was pulled up in two large pigtails, giving me a peace sign. "I'm Junko Enoshima. Charmed, I'm sure! I am the Ultimate Fashionista!" Not going to lie, this girl was kind of intimidating. Not sure why, but…

"Name's Mondo Owada," the boy, Mondo, said after Junko was done. Not sure what got my attention most about him. His choice in hairstyle, or the fact this guy towered over me more than everybody else. His shirt was low enough to reveal his muscular chest, and it was easy to tell that I wouldn't ever wanna get into a fight with him. "Ultimate Biker Gang Leader."

 _That's a thing?_ Who would want that as a talent? _Never mind that. Just four more left._ I turned to a tall teen, at least a few inches taller than Mondo, and wow, was she ever jacked! Arms, legs; everything about her screamed that she was a fighter. The scars on her right arm and across her face were adding to the intimidation factor, plus her steely gaze and curiously white long hair. But she still seemed more polite than some of the others here. "I am Sakura Ogami."

"Pleased to meet you, Sakura," I said, trying to contain a nervous shiver. Her eyes… they could cut through steel if she tried.

"I am the Ultimate Martial Artist." _Ah, that makes a lot of sense._ The next person, probably the one I would end up never stop hearing about, was the rich boy.

"Name's Byakuya Togami. It would be wise for you to remember that I am the Ultimate Affluent Progeny." _Yep. Yep, I can probably guess why._ Most of these people seemed to have their qualities, their talents, for things that they do. But him? It's his family that's carrying him. He had more power than I would ever have. "We're done with introductions now, right? How much longer are you going to stand there for? You are as bad as him." He cast a look at the boy who stood beside Sayaka, and he frowned at the insult.

"Ah, lay off the shrimp," the porcupine haired boy said, smiling down at me. "I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure-Hiro for short! I'm the Ultimate Clairvoyant!"

"Really?" I couldn't help asking. "How much truth is there to that?" Hiro smirked, pleased at my interest and rustled the top of my hair.

"I'll tell ya later, short stack." _Okay, are the short jokes going to continue here?_ I turned to the second last person; a gothic lolita girl. Red eyes studied me, and unlike Taka's, it was easy to tell that these were contacts.

"I am Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler." Her accent was thick, but what it was, I couldn't quite tell. It was certainly not from around here, but perhaps somewhere in Europe? "But if you don't mind, I would prefer for you to call me Celeste."

"Very well," I nodded. I turned to face the boy Byakuya made that comment on earlier, and smiled. "May I have your name?"

"Makoto Naegi," he grinned. "Nice to meet you. Guess you could call me the Ultimate Lucky Student, I guess." _He guessed? Did he not have a clear talent before arriving here?_ "Anyways, what's yours?"

"My… ultimate, you said?" I paused to put a hand to my chin in thought. "I am… not sure. Sorry, but… I cannot really recall much of what happened before I woke up here. Everything's all… blurry."

"Geez, and I thought being knocked out was bad," Hiro remarked. "Can't recall a thing, can you?"

"Nuh-uh." I shook my head. "But… I'm sure it will come back to me." I was half-confident. It didn't really matter what it was I came to this school for, but knowing it might be useful later down the road.

"Okay, time to get down to business," Byakuya said, drawing all of our attention. "This is no time to stand around making friends like a bunch of dull-eyed baboons." I frowned at his comment, as did a few others. "From what we have already established, we are still in the school."

"But are ya sure this isn't some weird kidnapping?" Leon asked, giving him a look.

"I bet this is all just part of the school's orientation procedure," Hiro said. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it! So I'm just gonna take it easy for a little bit." Relaxed guy, isn't he?

"Oh… so you think they wanted to do something to surprise us?" Chihiro asked, holding a hand to her chest.

"Huh. Well if that's all it is, it's nap time for me," Leon said. "I was up way too late last night, so I could use a little shuteye." Tension seemed to slowly evaporate, like everything really was just some dumb prank. But then… a bell rang through the school, and we all looked up at the wall. A monitor was set up, and we could see a silhouette on it. But… whatever it was… did not appear to be human.

"Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one, two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone here me? Okay, well then…!" The voice, clearly male, by the sound of it, seemed out of place with our current situation. Playful, unconcerned… it worried me. "Ahh, to all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at… right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. That's all. I'll be waiting!" With that, the screen shut off, leaving us sixteen teenagers in a mix of confusion and nerves.

I glanced around at everyone, and made the first move. While it may have been important to listen to their opinions, it would be highly unwise to leave this person… thing, waiting. For whatever agenda he had, it would not be wise to ignore his request. "… see you all there." Before they could say anything more, I exited the area and headed straight down the hall. Across from me was a flight of stairs, but unfortunately, there was a large metal gate blocking access. To my right was the gym's door, and I slipped through that into another waiting area, and then into the gym itself.

One at a time behind me, the students trickled in. Though, I decided to focus on other things. Such as my own appearance. It wasn't essential, but as I couldn't remember much prior to waking up, it would be wise to have an idea to what I last wore before coming here. I had a white button-up shirt with a dark red lab coat over it. The coat was unbuttoned, hanging freely from my petite frame and almost hitting my knees. I also had on a pair of black jeans, which might have been to mimic dress pants but these were much more comfortable to work in. I tapped my short black boots on the wooden floor, testing their durability. "Hmm." I reached up to the top of my head, feeling a set of goggles with the strap holding my short scraggly light pink hair back. Lowering my pale hand, I paused to look at my skin. Faint traces of scaring covering it, and there were noticeable calluses. _What did I do to cause these?_

"Oh. It really does look like an entrance ceremony," Makoto voiced as he entered behind everyone else.

"See? Told ya! It's totally normal entrance ceremony stuff," Hiro confirmed.

"Hey there, howdy, hello!" We all looked around, hearing the same voice from before come out of the speakers. "Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!" How excited it was sent chills down my spine. It was creepy, and it sent warning bells ringing from how happy it was. How could one be happy, when we're all trapped in here?

As one, we all turned to face the stage, where a podium was set up bearing the school's insignia. Then, out of nowhere, out from possibly a trapdoor of some kind, a black and white object flew out from behind the stand and onto the top of it, right in between a glass of water and a microphone. "Huh? A… teddy bear?" Chihiro murmured beside me. It looked like it. Velvety fur, but not anything really fluffy. One half was a normal cutesy white bear, but the left side… it was black, with a large fanged smile and a disturbing red eye that bore the same jagged style as the school's logo. It had an odd little pot belly, and a belly button that stuck outwards. Weird toy, but… okay, I really couldn't shake that off. It's weird. Just that half-fanged grin made me uneasy.

"I'm not a teddy bear." The same voice from the speakers said, and to our shock, the bear stood up on its hind legs, dusting itself off. "I… am… Monokuma!" _Uh… how hard did I hit my head?_ Bears don't speak. I'm pretty confident in that logic. "And I am this school's headmaster! Nice to meetcha!"

"I think I'm losing my mind," I whispered to myself, but loud enough for a few students around me to hear. Whatever this thing was, it definitely raised my nerves to a whole new level. Something about it just… filled me with dread.

"Aah! I had a nightmare just like this once!" Hifumi shouted.

"Young man, some respect, if you please. Mon-o-kuma. Your headmaster." The voice was so out of place. So carefree. Whatever feelings I had before all took a turn to outright fear, and I cautiously stepped back from the bear. The bear, Monokuma, must have been some form of highly advanced machinery. That was my only assumption. With how smart it replied, I could only guess some serious programming went into it. "Now then, moving on! We really must hurry and get started…" started? Started on what? "Everyone, stand at attention and bow! And… good morning!"

"Good morning, headmaster, sir!" Taka repeated, giving a deep bow.

"Y-you don't have to s-say it back," Toko said, fiddling with her fingers. I understand that he followed the rules and all, but that's a bit much.

"Ah, that'll have to do, I suppose. Now then, let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony!" Monokuma announced. _Monokuma… monochrome bear._ Ah, his name was a pun. "First, let's talk a bit about what your school life here will be like. Now, ah, make no mistake-you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world." That's… nice, but you're making it sound bad? "And to protect such splendid hope… you will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school." _That's n-wait what!?_ "Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school. Ah, now then… regarding the end date for this communal life… there isn't one! In other words, you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you've been assigned!"

Assigned? Assigned!? I didn't sign up for anything! "Oh, but fear not!" Monokuma continued, oblivious to our concerns. "We have quite an abundant budget, so you won't lack for all the common conveniences." How does that make us feel any better!?

"That's the least of our worries right now!" Sayaka shouted.

"Yeah, what the hell? You're saying I have to live here forever?" Junko said. "You're screwing with us, right?"

"I am not screwing with you! I am no, liar, of that you can be 100 percent sure. Ah, and just for your information… you're completely cut off from the outside world."

"Figured that out already," I muttered, casting an anxious glare at Monokuma. Robots are just that. Robots. But I was certain our 'headmaster' wouldn't like being addressed as such. Judging from the AI, and the vocals its speaker is producing, calling the bear a him would probably be a safe bet. I blanked out for a moment, until Makoto exclaimed what I had already pieced together.

"So all those metal plates all over the school… they're here to keep us trapped in here!?"

"That's exactly what they're there for," Monokuma confirmed. "No matter how much you may yell and scream for help… help will not come. So with all that in mind, feel free to live out your life here with reckless abandon!"

"Come on, what the hell is this?" Leon asked, sweat on his brow. "I don't care if the school or whoever is behind it all, this is just a really bad joke."

"Yeah!" Mondo shouted. "Cut this crap out! It isn't funny anymore!"

"Unbelievable," Monokuma complained, an odd faint red glow noticeable around his face. _Is that from… his eye?_ "You keep saying this is a lie, or a joke. A bunch of skeptics, all of you. But I guess you can't help it, huh? You all grew up in an age where you're taught to doubt your neighbor… well, you'll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true." He put his paws to his mouth, almost giddy. "And when that time comes, you'll see with your own eyeballs that I speak the undeniable truth."

"Having to live here forever would be… quite the problem," Celeste, holding her hands to her chest, said.

"Come, now. What's the matter with you all?" Monokuma tilted his head, looking puzzled. "You decided of your own free will to attend Hope's Peak Academy, didn't you?" _Maybe,_ I frowned. _I don't remember signing up though._ "And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you've already decided you want to leave? Oh, but you know… I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There **is** one way for you to leave the school…"

"R-really?" Toko stammered. We all had a twinge of hope at that. There was a way out? Seriously?

"As headmaster, I've crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it… the Graduation Clause! Now then, let me tell you about this fun little rule. As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school. That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!"

"What do you mean by 'disrupt the harmony'?" Byakuya asked. Despite his calm facade. It was clear he was just as angry as the rest of us. Cold, and cunning, and thinking this all over for any way to get out. "Enlighten us."

"Puhuhu… well, you know… if one person were to **murder** another."

… what?

What?

"What!?" I shrieked, stumbling back. Was he-did he just-murder!?

"M-murder!?" Makoto shouted, as everyone began shouting at the word in alarm, our hearts racing. Murder!? H-he wasn't being serious, was he!? Th-that's awful! Who in their right mind would kill someone, another living being, just to leave!?

"Stabbin', stranglin', bludgeonin', crushin', hacking', drownin', ignitin', how you do it doesn't matter." Why are you being so freakin' casual about this!? "You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that." He chuckled darkly. "The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible."

A shiver ran down my spine, and I knew we were all thinking the same thing. If we wanted to leave… we would have to do the worst possible thing a human could do: kill another person. It-who cares if it was for survival, it was still wrong!

"Puhuhu. I bet **that** got your brain juices flowing!" Monokuma laughed, holding his stomach. "Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh? Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world. But you know… taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair. And I just find that so… darn… exciting! The adrenaline… it's a head rush, I tell ya." _Good lord, we're trapped by a sadistic homicidal teddy bear. He's practically getting high on this._

"What the hell are you talking about!? To kill each other is… it's…!" Leon tried to speak, but the words were caught in his throat.

"To kill each other is to kill each other. I'm sure there's a dictionary here somewhere if you need it," Monokuma waved him off.

"We know what it means, that's not the problem! Why do we have to kill each other!?" Hina shouted desperately.

"Yeah! Stop blabbering on with all this nonsense! Just let us go home already!" Looking from Hifumi to the bear, I knew we had crossed a line. I could see from where I stood, that jagged red eye was glowing, much more than it was when I saw it before. He leered down at us from his spot on the podium, and even though he could only stand at roughly my waist, the robot was doing enough to paralyze me with terror.

"… blabbering? Blabbering, blabbering, what do you mean blabbering!? Stop blabbering on about blabbering on!" Straightening up, his eye slowly began to fade to its normal brightness. "You guys just don't get it, do you? 'Let us go, let us go'! You keep on saying the same thing over and over and over and over…! Listen. From this moment on, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it? And you can kill as much as you wanna kill! So go ahead, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!" Why!? Why are you encouraging this!?

"Chihiro," I whispered to her, almost shaking. "I-I think I'm gonna…" her doe eyes widened, and she helped me over to the wall so I could lean against it. Breathing deeply with shaking legs, I smiled thankfully at her. Things… th-they were going to get better, right? This was all a jo-

"Listen up! This crap's gone way too far! You want us to kill our classmates!? What the hell kinda joke IS this!?" Mondo shouted, voice rumbling like thunder.

"Joke? What, you mean like your hair?" I snorted softly at the comeback, but the stress of the situation still weighed greatly on me. The teen roared at the insult, and before we knew it, he launched himself straight at Monokuma, as fast as a bullet with the momentum of kicking off the floorboards. He locked onto his target, and hoisted the bear off the podium from the stage, holding him by the scruff of the fur around his neck.

"Gotcha, you little piece of crap! I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever the hell! Either way, I'm gonna rip you to shreds!" Monokuma waved his arms around, trying to break free.

"Waah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!" As if that was going to do him any good.

"Shut up! Let me outta here…" his next words were so low, I couldn't make out his threat. But it was clear to me, and the rest of us that he would be willing and ready to pummel the stuffing out of Monokuma to get out of here.

That's when… the beeping started. Eyes going wide, I forced myself to my feet. _If… he is a robot, then… oh no!_ "Throw him!" I screamed, grabbing his attention before the teen or anyone else could say anything. "It's a bomb! He's going to blow up!" That startled him, but when he heard the beeping get faster, he quickly threw the bear as hard and as high as he could...

… and Monokuma blew up over our heads, disintegrating the robotic parts and leaving the strong smell of gunpowder in the air. A painful ringing was in my ears, but it could have been much worse. The teen… h-he could have been blown to bloody pieces. "It could have blown my face off!" Mondo exclaimed, frozen in place. This... this was really happening, was it? This wasn't a joke. This was... real life. _Holy c-we're all trapped in here with our lives on the line._

"But you know," Chihiro said, looking at me, seeing my pale face. "This means that the teddy bear's been destroyed, right?"

"I told you, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!" B-he just-b-b-come on! How many of these things are around the school!? He stood on the podium, and that grin on his black side seemed almost taunting.

"You son of a-you seriously tried to kill me just now!" Violations equal punishment… and I guess… the punishment is murder.

Monokuma's eye flashed dangerously, and three sharpened claws poked out of his paw, sending a very clear message. "But, of course. You did violate one of the school's regulations, after all. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you'd better be careful from now on. Any naughty boy or girl who violates my rules won't get off with just a little swat on the butt. We'll forego the written warnings, in favor of instant corporal punishment."

"H-hey… so does this mean there's like, a bunch more of you around somewhere?" Junko asked anxiously. That's what I would like to know. If this was going to be a regular thing, then were there backups around here?

"Monokumas have been placed all throughout the school, yes." Eugh, the idea of an army of these things. "Plus, don't forget about the surveillance cameras installed everywhere." _Then… he can watch us all the time, everywhere?_ I'm… not sure how I felt about that. "And if you're caught breaking any rules, well… you all just saw what happened, right? Puhuhu… and I won't be so forgiving with my punishment next time. So don't let it happen again! Now then, lastly… to commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you…" Monokuma reached from behind the podium, and threw a box off the stage, letting it slide across the floor until it rested in the middle of the group. "This is our official student handbook! Pretty cool, huh?"

 _They're like virtual pads. Only way to determine who's is who's to turn them on, by the looks of it._ "As you can see, it's fully digital. So naturally, we call it… the e-Handbook!" He waited to see our reactions, but noticed we didn't share his enthusiasm. Well, after seeing Mondo almost have his face blown off, any sort of normalcy and excited was thrown out the window. "Ahem. Yes, well, moving on… this handbook is absolutely vital to a healthy school life, so don't lose it! When you start it up, it will display your name. Always make sure you have the right one!"

The group began passing them out, keeping their eyes-or at least one eye-on the bear while receiving their handbook. Taking mine, I slipped it into my lab coat. I had time to check it over later. "Now, this is not your everyday notebook. It has so many more uses than that! Also, it's completely waterproof! Splash it, wash it, drown it, it'll keep on ticking! And thanks to its space-age design, it can withstand an impact force of up to ten tons. Very resistant! It contains all of our school regulations, so make sure you review them thoroughly." The cheery behavior drained from him, once again serious. "You'll hear me say this a lot, but any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated. Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws. The same thing applies here! Which is why it's crucial we have strict punishments in place for violators. Okay, well… that brings our entrance ceremony to a close! Please enjoy your abundantly dreary and possibly short school life! And… see ya!"

He leaped backwards off the stand, and just like that, he was gone, leaving us in a state of shock and disbelief. I-I still am not quite sure how to understand all this, but what I do understand, is that… is that I couldn't possibly take another life to free my own. "So, guys… how would you define what we just experienced?" Taka asked, looking around the room at everyone's faces.

"How…? Why…? I don't understand any of this…" Leon said.

"We have to l-live here forever…? Or… k-kill?" Toko added, visibly distressed. "Wh-what…? What just happened!?"

"Everyone, we need to just calm down," Kyoko said, pondering over our new revelation. "First, let's just take a second to summarize everything we just heard." _What we know, is that we could remain here for the rest of our lives,_ _or kill someone._ _Two choices._ _But, that would only free the killer. The rest of us would remain here. The process would continue, so on and so forth, until no one was left._

"But.. killing someone… that's…" Chihiro looked close to the brink of tears, and I rested a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll… think of something," I murmured. I tried, oh, how I tried to continue blocking out the rest of the conversation, but… what Byakuya said next…

"Is there anyone here who's seriously considering all this…?" Nobody could respond to that. How could they? In a group of sixteen teenagers, all with a different background and upbringing, would there really be someone… willing to test the rules? To do anything to break out? Those words Monokuma had said, buried deep into our skulls, planting seeds of doubt that had already begun to sprung. We were suspicious, and hostility was already thick in the air, choking me.

I… I didn't know how I woke up here, or… why I was even here, but what I did know was that I wasn't going to die in this forsaken school.

In the school... of despair.

* * *

 **My plan is to post a new chapter every month or so, whenever I have the time. However, this is mostly a test chapter to see what people think, if there's any fans that wouldn't mind seeing this idea continue. Normally I don't do M rated material, but seeing how I'm pretty good at writing gruesome material-the fans of mine on Gravity Falls can agree to that. Weirdmageddon is really messed up, and with those bleeding severed heads in the mansion… I wanted to expand my writing. For now, it will remain at T until the time to decide if it really should change.**

 **I've already examined the story line itself, and how Matsuko fits into it all. Gotta say, the plot is really interesting once you've looked over all of the games and the anime. So many details, all fitting together into this disturbing masterpiece.**

 **Well, until next time!**

 **Angel**


	2. Why Can't We Be Friends?

**Disclaimer: Apparently, you guys liked that first chapter! SO! I'm gonna continue this little thing. Chapters are still going to be relatively spaced out, but I figured that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Especially since finals are fast approaching and the wonderful world of summer jobs is coming up fast.**

 **RainbowCelin: Actually, it was a video game first, anime second. Attack on Titan was never something that really interested me.**

 **Elowyn: I never played any of the games, but I'm thinking of getting Trigger Happy Havoc on my laptop off Steam soon.**

 **ultima-owner: Yep!**

 **Chaos. Creator Of The Universe: Thanks!**

 **Guest: I will continue this, but updates will be pretty spaced out. Out of the all the stories I have going, this isn't at the top of the list. So whenever I do update, it'll be a while before the next one.**

 **DragonAevitas: The thing is, I don't plan on making sequels to this. What I plan on doing is incorporating some of the plot ideas from those and putting them in here. Monica will be mentioned.**

 **Hourglass Cipher: You think it's dark now, just wait until the murders start.**

 **snake screamer: The executions are honestly worse than the murders in my opinion, mostly because of how... creative they are. As for the prologue, I am not going to be speaking of it until the very end. No spoilers here. Also, this story is updated on its own time. It's not one of my major ones, since that title goes to the wondrous fandom of Gravity Falls. This is another side project, so updates will come when they come.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

" **Reading** "

* * *

This was... madness. Absolute madness. I-I wanted to believe this was all a bad dream. A nightmare, brought on by little sleep and tons of caffeine. But... it was real. It was very real.

I examined my electronic tablet beside Chihiro; the two of us more quiet than the rest, choosing to have our fear bottled inside. _I-I can't understand any of this,_ I shook, rereading the rules over and over again. _Why the heck was I dragged into this? I-If I had a talent, then sure, maybe I had some sort of reason. But with that stupid blank in my head, I'm as useless as the next average Joe. I'm... Makoto._ No offence to the Ultimate Lucky Student, but he was... normal, compared to the rest of them.

Then again, here I was in goggles and a lab coat. So what was my excuse? "So? What are you going to do now? Just stand around glaring at each other?" Kyoko broke the tense air, looking around at everyone. I think, as much as the others would hate to say it, it pulled them back into reality.

"R-right... she's right!" Taka added, wiping at the nervous sweat on his forehead. "Sometimes, even if you're nervous or afraid, you just have to step forward! To forget such a simple fact... I can't forgive myself. I'm so ashamed!" He's... certainly passionate. But he has a point. We could... try to get through this. Moping about wasn't going to solve anything. "Please, someone hit me! I can't forgive myself! Somebody hit me! Punish me!" _Um, do you have any idea how wrong that sounds?_

"Dude," Mondo groaned. "If you have time to yell about it, you have time to do something about it."

"Perhaps, but... what is the mission, exactly?" Hifumi asked, looking around nervously.

"Idiot! To look for a way out, duh!" Leon pointed at his head, making a face at the large teen. _Not many people would call another an idiot, and then say 'duh' and stick out their tongue..._

"And we totally need to find whoever was controlling that stupid bear and beat the hell out of 'em." Junko's idea definitely seemed to delight several people. No offence to the bear, but I wanted a few... select words with this mastermind.

"... b-but before we do all that, maybe we should take a look at the handbook," Chihiro added. I nodded in agreement, continuing to scroll through the rules.

"These are... something we probably should memorize," I voiced quietly. "No doubt, we'll experience the hard truth about what happens if we go against them if we're not careful." Everyone nodded and mumbled their understandings, and they all brought out their own e-Handbooks. They all let out a small chime as they were powered on, displaying the school's name and logo in the top right corner, and our full name on the front in white lettering.

" **Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.**

 **Nighttime is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.**

 **Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.**

 **With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.**

 **Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.**

 **Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes 'blackened' will graduate, unless they are discovered.**

 **Additional school regulations may be added as necessary.** " Seven rules. Each time I had gone through them, the pit in my stomach grew heavier. Glancing up, I saw the same stormy expressions on the other students' faces.

"This is crazy!" Mondo shouted, shoving the tablet in his jacket. "What the hell kinda rules are these!? I'm not gonna let them control ME!"

"Well then, why don't you wander around the school without a care in the world and see what happens?" Celeste suggested, mocking the taller teen. "Personally, I would love to see what happens when someone breaks one of the rules."

"But if he got punished like what we saw before, I don't think there'd be a respawn waiting for him," Hifumi countered, shooting his eyes over to me. In his weird way of thinking, he knew that if I didn't step in when I did... Mondo wouldn't be there anymore. _He'd be some there, some there, and some way other there._

Mondo opened his mouth for a moment, before closing it with a sigh. "I... ever since I was a kid, I grew up with my older brother pounding this into my head. When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it, even if it kills him." _What does that mean?_

"So what?" Junko asked insensitively, not sensing his emotions.

"I've made a ton of promises that I still have to keep, that's 'so what'!" He yelled at her. "So I can't afford to die here!"

"None of that made much sense to me, but what you are saying you will follow the regulations, is that it?" Celeste summarized, twirling a lock of raven hair.

"Huh? Oh, well... yeah, I guess you're right."

"Hey, um... I have a question." I looked over to Sayaka, who had raised her hand to get our attention. "For regulation number six... what do you think it means exactly?"

"You're talking about the second half, right?" Makoto asked. "Where it says 'unless they are discovered'? I was wondering about that myself."

"Hm. It's saying that if you want to graduate, you have to kill someone without anyone finding out it was you," Byakuya explained. _You don't have to make it sound like we're clueless._

"B-but why...? Why do we h-have to do that?" Toko stammered.

"I don't see any reason to worry about it. Just worry about following the rules as they've been explained to us. Frankly, I don't want to hear anything from someone who waits for others to decide what to do for them."

"D-don't jab at me..." Toko told him, face red.

"More like a full-on stab," Leon muttered, staring at her in disbelief.

"Well for now, let's forget all that silly junk about murderers or whatever," Hina said. "Now that we know the rules, let's start exploring the school!"

"True. We need to find out where exactly we are. Is there any way out? What about food and supplies?" Taka was right again. If this robot and his master wanted to keep us all in here, then surely there were supplies to help keep us alive. "There are tons of questions we need to answer!"

"Okay, then let's all start looking around!" Leon shouted, throwing a fist in the air.

"... I'll be going alone." Junko gave Byakuya an odd look, confused.

"What!? Why? That's a pretty stupid idea, don't you think?"

"Someone here might have already started thinking about murdering one of us. Are you saying we should stand around with them in our midst and make it that much easier for them?" H-he couldn't be serious? No one was plotting to kill anyone! Especially not right now! _Though... what does that mean for later down the line?_

"W-wait, hold on a second," Sayaka told him. "That would never-!"

"Don't bother saying it couldn't happen. You can't deny the possibility." The way he cut her off stunned me. He was so certain, so sure that someone, anyone, would turn against the others. "That's why you all seized up with fear when that graduation rule was made clear to you. Hehe. Am I wrong?" He crossed his arms with a cunning smirk, satisfied with his explanation. Chihiro beside me shook, and I felt myself twitch slightly at how **right** he was.

"B-but..." the blue haired girl tried to speak again, but the words were lost.

"So, I'm simply acting in accordance with that I think is best for me," he continued.

"Hold on! Like hell I'm gonna let you run off and do whatever you want!" Mondo captured his attention, moving his way to stand in front of the blond and staring him down.

"Out of my way, plankton." _Oh, this is going downhill._ Mondo wouldn't resort to punching him, would he?

"Wh-!? The hell's that supposed to mean!?" _He would._ Mondo had already started cracking his knuckles, readying himself if need be.

"One tiny bit of plankton, drifting across the sea. So minuscule, so insignificant, they couldn't possibly have any kind of influence on the boundless ocean." I tensed at the obvious insult, and watched Mondo's purple eyes flame in anger.

"Makoto, do something," I tugged on his black hoodie, hearing Mondo's enraged shout. Makoto seemed to almost be the smartest pacifist there. While it was obvious the rest of us didn't want to jump in there and stop the towering redhead, Makoto might have a better chance. Though, I do suppose Hiro was another obvious choice.

"S-stop it!" He shouted, moving over to Mondo once I let go of him. "We shouldn't fight!"

"The heck you just say? You some kinda goody-goody?" _Oh... Hiro was definitely the better choice._ "Who do you think you are, talkin' to me like that? You think you're my dad or something!? Give me a lesson on teamwork!?"

"N-no, I wasn't-!" Makoto stuttered, shaking his hands in front of him while slowly backing away.

It was too late. With a roar, Mondo's fist came flying, and rammed right into Makoto's face. Sayaka and Hina gave small shrieks as the boy went soaring clear across the room, and right into the wall on the other side. His head hit the wall hard, and he slumped to the floor, unconscious. I didn't see it coming, and I bet he didn't either. His fist was all of a sudden right there, in his face. Me, Chihiro, and Hina, and Sayaka rushed over to him, with Hina getting to him first. Rolling his head over so he was now staring up at the ceiling, she quickly checked around his scalp from where he made the impact. "He's fine, but we better find some place to let him rest until he wakes up." His breathing was a little shaky, but it appeared he didn't have any visible injuries. The punch only knocked him out, thankfully.

Sayaka, still with her handbook out, flipped through it. "The map installed says there's rooms for each of us. We can bring him there for now. Matsuko, could you...?" I nodded, and threw one of Makoto's arms over my neck. Sayaka followed my example, and we hoisted the knocked out boy to his feet. Leaving the other girls and the rest of the teens behind, we made our way out of the gym towards where Sayaka said the dorms were. It was another wing on the first floor, with red lights lighting the path unlike the green and purple from before. _What is it with the odd bulb choices? Red, green, and purple? Little festive, don't you think?_ Carefully, she let me support most of the weight as she opened the door to let us in.

The room, which probably a lot of the others looked the same, wasn't much. Empty drawers, desks, and a table. A twin sized bed was behind a desk, with bright blue sheets and a pillow. The same heavy steel plates blocked out the outside above the head, and there was another camera hanging almost directly over the bed. "I am... not going to sleep well with that there," I mumbled. Carefully, we lowered Makoto onto the mattress, and I turned to look at her. "I'm going to head back to the others."

"I'll stay around and wait for him to wake up," she replied with a smile. I returned the happy expression, and walked out of the room and back towards the others. Something about the girl just... made me happy. She seemed pleasant, with an almost mischievous side if you really got to know her. I saw her and Makoto joking around a little right as I showed up by the gated door.

However, as I neared the door, I saw that there weren't as many people inside. In fact, all I saw was Chihiro and Junko. "Um... where is everyone?" The girls turned over towards my voice, and I walked over to them.

"Everyone split up to look around," Chihiro explained. "We were just about to go see where our rooms were before regrouping in the dining hall."

"You're welcome to tag along," Junko added. _Not like there's anything else for me to do._ With a relenting shrug, we made our way back towards where I left Sayaka and Makotot. Sayaka was nowhere to be found, so I had only guessed she went to either check out her own room or see what the others were doing. Stopping in front of Chihiro's door, we all looked at each other before opening it up.

"It's just like Makoto's," I observed. It made sense that they'd all be identical. "Hmm... hey guys?" The two turned to face me. "Do you suppose... that these rooms are soundproof?"

"Why'd you wanna know that?" Junko asked, confusion written on her face.

"Well, suppose at some point, which I'm hoping is not going to happen... if someone tried to murder or attack anyone in their room, would we be able to hear them?" I had a very active mind. I could go on tangents in my own head. Speaking out loud, well... I preferred to keep quiet. But I wanted to know if I was right. Did I have anything to fear if something does go wrong?

Chihiro was clearly shocked by my question, but she seemed to consider it. "Well... there's only one way to test that." She moved into her bedroom, and closed the door behind us. Oddly enough, there was a little pixelated sprite of Chihiro on the door. Same as all of the others. A few seconds passed, until the door reopened and she walked out with a shake of her head. "I screamed, but judging from your faces, you didn't hear anything, right?"

"So they're totally soundproof," Junko muttered depressingly. "That's a major bummer." I nodded, looking around the hall until I spotted my own sprite image.

"Hey. Why don't we all go check out our rooms, and then we'll head back to the dining hall." With that, Chihiro went back inside her room while Junko and me split off. Mine was directly across from the programmer, and it felt nice to be able to be close to a relatively friendly face. _I think we're going to get along,_ I smiled, wrapping my hand around the knob and opening it up.

Same furniture, same red walls, same blue flooring, same camera, and... same steel plates on the windows. Nothing different. "Dang it," I groaned, stepping in. "Let's see. What else is in here?" I looked around through the drawers, and the only odd things I found was a notepad, a lint roller, a sewing kit... that included a diagram of the human body, and a notice from the bear himself. _As if I plan on stabbing anyone,_ I paled after reading the guidelines. Just one stab would do the trick, huh? _Whoever programmed you has some serious mental problems. Sick... urgh._

" **Announcement from Headmaster Monokuma: each room's lock has been designed to completely protect against tampering or lock-picking. Remaking an individual key is quite troublesome, so please make sure not to lose yours. Your room comes furnished with a shower, but please note that the water is turned off at nighttime. Also, the bathrooms in the girls' rooms include a lock of their own.**

 **Finally, we've prepared a small gift for each of you. For the girls, a sewing kit. And for the boys, a toolkit. The sewing kit includes a map of the body's vital organs. One stab will do the job, girls! For the boys, we believe a strong blow to the head with any of the tools should be ample. Don't think! Just feel! And let's all enjoy ourselves!** "

"I swear to... when I get my hands on whoever is pulling the strings..." I crumbled up the paper, throwing it into the trash by the shelf below it. Giving one last final look, I snatched my room's key off the lone table in the middle of the room. My name was engraved in gold on the blue key chain. "Guess I should head back."

It seemed I had timed it with everyone else, as one at a time, we all drifted towards the new room. I didn't really know where it was, so it was a blessing to see others already had a sense of location. Gathering around a table that already included an awake Makoto, Taka slammed his hands down to get our attention. "Okay! It looks like everyone's here. Time to start the meeting!"

 _I wonder if Mondo and Makoto talked at all about what happened._ I looked at the two boys sitting beside each other, and I could only assume they talked before I entered. Taking a seat beside Chihiro, I propped an elbow on the table and my chin in an open palm. "I kicked at that stupid door we first gathered at for like, an hour," Mondo spoke up. "Nothing. Didn't leave so much as a dent. Thing's hard as iron."

"It is iron, so that would make sense," Celeste agreed.

"At the end of the main corridor, we found a stairwell leading up to the upper floor," Sakura said beside Hina.

"But the security gate was down and we couldn't get it to budge," the swimmer added.

"Hmm... I suppose time will tell if it will rise or not," I mused. There doesn't seem to be any logical reason for it to remain down the entire time we're here. "Junko, Chihiro, and me checked out the rooms. And... soundproof. She screamed her lungs out on the other side of the door. We didn't hear a thing."

Several teens squirmed at the news, while Chihiro nodded in agreement. "Well, each room also had a private bathroom, which could also lock," Celeste then added.

"But it looked like there were only locks on the bathrooms in the girls' dorms," Junko corrected her.

"Me and Hiro tired to budge those metal plates all around the school," Leon said. "Nothing. Not a thing. We couldn't move any, not even a little bit."

"I went and had a look around the dining hall," Sayaka said. "I found a fridge in the back of the kitchen, and it was overflowing with all kinds of stuff. I guess we don't have to worry about food, at least," she smiled pleasantly.

"Surely there's not enough to feed sixteen people for the rest of their lives," Hifumi pointed out.

"No, there is. All the food gets restocked automatically each day," she explained. "At least, that's what Monokuma said..."

Monokuma? "You saw him!?" Junko asked, surprised.

"Yeah, he came out of nowhere while I was checking the fridge, told me that, then disappeared again." So, not only is that podium a location where the bear pops out, but he has hidden tunnels all over the place. Or... is it just an AI that travels all around to multiple models? "He was so fast, I can't believe someone could have been moving him around with a remote control..."

"A weaponized toy that can just appear from nowhere... I can't tell if we're supposed to be afraid or not," Chihiro said quietly.

"But was everything okay?" Hina asked, leaning in. "He didn't try to like, eat you or anything?" Before Hifumi opened his mouth, I quickly slapped a hand on the table. If I knew fanfiction writers, and I knew teenage boys, then whatever he was about to say was going to be downright disgusting.

"Okay! Onto the next subject please! Is there anything left to report about?"

"Report? We're still in the dark about who's b-behind this, and we still have no idea what's g-going on!" Toko shouted. "This investigation was a waste of time!"

"Huh? Is it not crystal clear to you what is going on?" Celeste asked, hand raised to her mouth. "It is perfectly obvious that we have been imprisoned in some secret location, with no way out." Nobody had a response to that, not right away. It seemed that it was quite hard to accept that as the truth. But there it was, staring at us mockingly.

"You didn't h-have to go and s-say that. I w-was trying not to th-think about it..." Toko raked her hands through her hair nervously, glasses now askew. "N-no way out... we're t-trapped here. What are w-wr supposed to d-do...?"

"It's very simple. If you want to leave, you just have to kill-"

"Don't even joke about that!" Byakuya was cut short by Junko's yell, thankfully stopping him from finishing the line.

"Aw man. There's gotta be something we can do!" Leon exclaimed.

"All we can do is adapt. Adapt to living our lives here from now on." _Lolita say what?_ Hands placed under her chin in such a sweet, innocent smile it unsettled me, Celeste looked around at us. "These aren't such bad arrangements."

"Live here...? Are you saying we should just accept it?" Chihiro asked, appalled.

"A lack of adaptability... is a lack of survivability," she said slowly. "Survival is not based on who is the strongest or the smartest. It comes down to who can adapt. As someone who has come out on top more than once, I have a suggestion."

"Yeah? And what might that be?" Mondo asked, looking up over his feet kicked up on the table to watch her.

"We all understand that we are trapped here. Which means we will be spending the night. However... you all remember the rule regarding nighttime, right? So regarding this 'nighttime', I think we need to add a rule of our own."

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

"Going out at nighttime should be prohibited altogether," Celeste explained. "The school regulations do not actually tell us not to go out at night. I would like to make it official."

"B-but why?" Toko asked, still panicking. "Wh-what would be the point?"

"The way things are now, my dears, every time night comes we will all start to get worried and anxious. The tiniest of sounds will persuade us that something foul is afoot. If we have to worry about that night after night for who knows how long, it will wear us down in no time. However, unlike the other rules, nobody can be forced to comply. We all have to agree to follow it."

The students mumbled their understanding. It was a reasonable rule. Nothing too far-fetched. "So everyone is in agreement? Good. Then if you will excuse me..." standing up, she moved away from the table and back towards the hallway.

"Huh? Wait, where are you going?" Chihiro asked.

"It is almost nighttime. I want to take a shower before it arrives." With that as her final words, Celeste gracefully left the room. I looked around at the others, and spared a glance at the clock up on the wall. Indeed, the girl was right. It was late. I never even knew time passed by so quickly. First I woke up around 8 in the morning, and now it was nearing 8 at night. _Guess without windows to see outside, it's hard to really determine what's happening._ It moved so fast, I never even felt it go by.

"... she has a point," I finally spoke, now drawing their attention. "With curfew approaching, I'd really like to wash up before it shuts down too. Goodnight everyone." Standing up and smoothing out the crinkles in my pants, I followed after Celeste. This school was huge, no doubt about it. If there was a flight of stairs, then there must be more than one floor. How much was on each floor was left to the imagination at the moment.

"Man, I think too much," I said with a slight laugh, reaching my door. Opening it up, I walked inside and turned around to lock the door. _Better safe than sorry._ The... worry, and ideal about someone being pushed to murder still sat ill within me. Keeping the door locked while I was inside made me feel better. At least a little bit. Sliding my lab coat off, I draped it over a chair in the corner by the desk and kicked my boots off under it. That notebook they left for each of us would be a perfect way to document any findings I learned, and this was the safest place to do it. Turning from the blue pad on the table to the other door in the room, I reached up to take my goggles off and put them down too. "Now, let's go check out that shower."

It was clean, with the normal immensities such as a hairbrush, toothpaste and toothbrush on the bathroom counter. And thankfully, whoever planned on keeping us here planned ahead for female needs. _That could have gotten ugly quickly._ "Well, time to take a soak then." Stripping down my clothes and tossing them outside the bathroom door in a disorganized pile, I immediately stepped into the shower and turned on the water. It was cold at first, igniting a shiver from me, but eventually changed to a warmth that helped ease some of my worries.

Even after cleaning up, I remained under the torrent of water for more than I needed, thinking. Was this... really how my life was going to go from now? Without memory of why I was here, what my supposed talent was, and forced to play this twisted game? _I... I want out, but... how? Is there a loophole at all? Something we never thought of?_ Sighing, I twisted the knob and let the water slow to a halt. "If there was... we would have found out about it by now."

Stepping onto the bathroom mat, I wrapped a towel tightly around my body. Once it was secured at the top over my breasts, I cracked the door open and snatched at my clothes on the floor, and slid them back into the washroom. I hated having to wear the same clothes all night, but until I was absolutely ready for sleep, then I would change. At least, into my underwear. With the camera hanging overhead in my room, I didn't plan on putting on a show. "This mastermind couldn't have given us more sets of clothing?" I sighed, pausing to wring the water from my hair. Leaving my socks off and bundling them up into a ball, I exited the shower and knelt down by my boots to stick the ball inside one of them.

"Puhuhu!"

"Holy c-!" I stumbled backwards onto the floor, staring over towards the bedroom door. Monokuma cheerfully stared back at me, laughing at my reaction. "You!?"

"Me!" He cried, waddling over to me. Honestly, it wasn't really looks that had me terrified of him. His personality was what kept me on edge. _How can one be scared of a teddy bear that barely made it up to your knees?_ Plus, his walk was just silly. "Matsuko Hirota." _What the-how does he know my name?_ "I noticed that you seem to have a problem with your laundry concerns."

"I-I just-how the heck did you see that?" I asked, leaning away from the two-toned bear.

"I heard it, kiddo! Those cameras aren't just for watching, you know. I hear everything that goes on inside. And boy, do I get a real treat out of that!" Couldn't he not hint towards anything perverse? "Now listen up! In a side room down the hall is a storage room filled with cleaning supplies, a washing machine, and a dryer. Those only work during the day, so they fall under the same guidelines as the dining hall."

"They close at ten," I said to myself. "So if I don't time it right, then I could be without clean clothes or bedding for the night until they restart in the morning." I didn't want that to happen. No way was I planning on having to parade around the floor in a towel. _Especially when a certain fan writer could throw a fit at that idea. Eugh._ "That's... simple enough." I tucked my legs under me and got back to my feet. The 'headmaster' kept watching me, and I cautiously stepped backwards. He couldn't blink, but the way that red glowing eye locked onto me... it was creepy. "Is that all?"

"For now," he replied innocently. "But, y'know, there's not any harm wanderin' around your room like that. It's not like it's anything that's gonna interest me. But, if you really wanted-"

"Alright. I'm done." I didn't do violence. I'm probably on the same level as Chihiro and Makoto as being a pacifist goes, but that didn't mean my patience doesn't wear thin. Reaching forward and picking the bear up by the scruff of his neck before he could go any further, I carried him over to my door at arm's length and opened it up with my other hand holding the key. All the while, Monokuma swung his arms rapidly and tried to break free until I sat him back down on the floor.

His eye glowed brightly, and I wondered how he didn't lash out at me yet. If not with that built-in bomb, then at least with those claws. "Hey! What did I say about-!?"

"You said violence. Technically, I wasn't causing any harm to you, right?" I replied, slightly cocky. Monokuma glared at me, but we both knew I was in the right. _Loopholes. Better use them when I find them._ "Well, if that's all, I'll be going to bed now. For real." With that, I closed the door on him, and locked it once again.

Spinning around, I marched over to my bed, and climbed on top of it. "He said no destruction of property. He didn't say I couldn't do this." Taking the pillowcase of the pillow, I draped it over the camera. I wasn't damaging it, so once again, I was still in the clear. "There we go." Dropping myself to the mattress below, I undid my shirt for a second time and dropped it on the floor. I didn't want to take any chances with him busting back into my room, so I wisely kept my jeans on as I crawled under the covers.

"Well... at least the bed's comfy." Reaching above my head, I flicked the switch and plunged my room into darkness.

Um... almost darkness.

"Ahem, this is a school announcement," Monokuma's high pitched voice came through the monitor on the wall as it lit up. The bear smiled at the camera from his chair, swirling a wine glass filled with an unknown red liquid. Dozens of computer screens were visible behind him, showcasing different rooms all around the school. "It is now 10 pm. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then... sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

The screen shut off, leaving me back in the silent darkness. "... sweet dreams." I rolled over so my face was away from the wall, and I buried my head into my pillow. "Yeah. As if that will happen." _Hmm...so the first day is over. The first day of this nightmare. Chihiro, Sayaka, Hina, Makoto... everyone. None of us deserve to be here. Even Mondo, who I believe said he had a record, still doesn't deserve this sort of treatment. Why though? Why us? What did we do wrong? What did **I** do wrong? _More importantly... what did I do to deserve having no memory of arriving at this school like everybody else?

* * *

 **I didn't expect this to be as huge as the first chapter. Mostly because the first one was whether or not I would continue this, and to introduce all of our main characters. However, don't fret! The character list will get smaller the farther we go!**

 **... that was so dark, I'm sorry.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	3. The First Motive

**Disclaimer: Thanks for still keeping up with this story! Finals are all over, so updates should be a little more common. However, I have a summer job starting next week. This means that chapters will still be posted in random.**

 **DannyPhantom619: Thanks! Bet of a different change of pace from my normal stories.**

 **Zorua1: What Matsuko's talent is won't be revealed until the very end. As for the loophole part, she's just more thoughtful than some of the others. Finding ways to get around the rules, without causing any trouble.**

 **Hourglass Cipher: Let me be the first to say the murders (by the students and by Monokuma) are quite gruesome. They're the reason why I'm debating bumping this to M rated.**

 **snake screamer: I won't be doing the other games, but that doesn't mean I won't allude to them. Ultimate Despair Girls plays an important part in this.**

 **Luckygurrl12: Yay, horror!**

 **DragonAevitas: Sadly, in my area of Canada, I was unable to find number 2 of the manga. I already have 1, and 3 and 4 are easy to buy, but 3 is nowhere to be found. Also, it would be 16 surviving students. Where did you think it was 15 this time around? Since Matsuko was added, it raised the count by one.**

 **foxchick1: Thanks!**

 **I own Matsuko, and not Danganronpa. Get ready, everyone. This is when things really begin to pick up. Now, if no one has ever seen the game before, there is blood. A LOT of blood. I'm going to make this very descriptive, so keep in mind.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

" **Reading** "

* * *

Three days. Three days my new 'friends' and I had been trapped inside the school.

It had been... tiring, and sore. Not like when Makoto had his lights knocked out, but from how much I kept tensing up. My nerves were on edge, even as I tried my hardest to sleep. Which, thankfully, Chihiro tried her best to keep me steady.

Chihiro was quiet, just as I was, but she was good at consoling someone. We somehow clicked after that first day, and I'd spent most of my time with her. Oddly enough, it was about discussing her work as the Ultimate Programmer. The codes she spelled out weren't that complicated. At least, to me they weren't. Poor Hiro was walking past us as we headed back to her room, and showed zero clue that he understood our conversation.

Then again... he didn't seem to understand most basic concepts.

 _But now... here we are at our daily breakfast gathering, with still no way of getting out._ Everyone had decided to meet up each morning at breakfast. A sort of method to make sure we were all still... alive. I felt disgusted by it, but it made sense. It was a good way of keeping roll call. "Everyone, thank you for making time in your busy schedules to come together."

"I didn't make time, idiot," Mondo remarked at Taka's introduction. "You dragged me here..."

Taka didn't flinch. "I know I already mentioned this earlier, but... in order to get out of here, it is essential that we all cooperate with each other." Tension only knows so much. With each argument, the buildup increases, until finally... it snaps. "And the first step is this breakfast meeting, to allow us to become friends and build trust! So let's all continue to meet here in the dining hall every morning after the morning announcement! Now then, let's eat!"

I got up from my seat, heading into the kitchen as the group broke into discussion. I needed food first, freedom second. It wasn't as if the mastermind was going to kill us all off at their own hand. They wanted us to do that for their own twisted amusement. _Only if we break their rules, do we get... punished. Just like Mondo._ Being blown to bits would be such a gruesome way to go.

I could hear the voices begin to rise, showing the spiking levels of adrenaline and fear. I was-well, I was as scared as they were. A paranoid mess. However, I had to... keep a calm front. If people knew I was agitated, it could spell out my death much sooner. I would not kill. I would not resort to such acts. But I would rise above this, and bring me, and anyone other person who chooses a pacifist way, out of here with me.

As of right now, it was clear that choice was made by Chihiro and Makoto. Both of them didn't want to murder anyone, and it appeared that we were all trying to pull the rest in on our path. Hina and Sakura seemed like good choices. I would have to talk with them later. "Do you think maybe the person responsible for all this could be a certain murderous fiend...?" Chihiro's soft words registered in my brain amidst the rest of the chatter, and I almost dropped the plate filled with banana muffins.

 _Monokuma? Honestly, it would make sense._ The robot was a puppet, being used by whoever was keeping us captive here. "A murderous fiend... Chihiro, do you have some idea who might be behind all this?" Makoto asked. I exited the kitchen, and sat the plate down on the table. Several of the teens accepted my offering, giving me small nods and smiles at the gift. What could I say? Food was a great peace maker.

"Well... maybe. I mean, I can't really be certain, but..."

"Certainty is not a concern right now! I'll allow whatever remarks you may have!" Taka shouted, pointing at her. I dropped beside Chihiro, who jumped at the shout.

"O-okay, well... have you guys heard of Genocide Jack?" _Uh... who?_ Everyone else seemed to recognize the name though, and paled drastically.

"You mean that serial killer that's been in the news and all over the internet?" Makoto asked nervously.

"The monstrous villain who's murdered scores of victims in brutally bizarre fashion," Byakuya explained. "The word **bloodlust** was left at each murder scene, written in the victim's own blood. Whoever it is, he's like a ghost. He strikes without warning, and disappears without a trace. And on the internet, they started calling him... Genocide Jack. That about covers it, I think."

"They say he's claimed over a thousand victims," Hiro added.

"That's just an urban legend though, right? I mean even like, ten people would be totally insane." _Urban legend or not, Junko, I don't think I want to find out._ Sweeping a loose strand of pink hair to the side, I took a bite of my muffin.

"Anyway, whoever Genocide Jack really is, he's obviously some kind of super crazy killer," Chihiro ended.

"And if he really is this 'ultimate' psycho, I wouldn't be surprised if he put together something like this." Chihrio shrugged at Mondo's statement, having trouble arguing back.

"But like I said, I can't be certain. I don't have any evidence or anything. It's just a thought..."

"But if they're the killer, isn't that like a killer of a problem for us!?" Leon asked.

"It's okay! Everything's absolutely, positively, one hundred percent without a doubt gonna be okay!" Hina shouted. _How do you know that?_ How do we know for certain? "Cuz help's gonna be here soon, I'm sure of it!"

"Huh...? H-help?" Toko stuttered. _Why does she look more frazzled than normal?_

"We've been stuck in here for a few days already, right? Nobody's been able to contact us, so I'm sure they're getting worried. I bet they called the police already!" Yeah. Yeah, that's right. We're sixteen kids with most of us having quite a following. There had to have been alarm raised by now. It shouldn't be too long until someone comes here looking f-

"AHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Everyone froze as the high pitched laughter rocked through the dining room, and at the end of the table, a horribly familiar black and white toy popped up. "The police? You're putting your faith in the police!?" Monokuma asked, sitting in the chair and looking at Hina.

"What are you doing here!?" Sakura asked, seeing her friend give a small yelp in shock.

"You guys, seriously... do you understand what role the police exist to fill? All they're good for is being a foil, playing against a villain or anti-hero or evil organization. The bad guys come along and destroy them, and that shows just how awesome they are. Are you sure you wanna rely on such an unreliable group of losers? I mean, come on! If you really, REALLY wanna get out of here, all you gotta do is kill!" Monokuma surveyed our reactions, seeing us all vary different expressions at the reminder. The bear leaned back in his seat, folding his arms. "Got to hand it to you. You got balls when it comes to dealing with authority." He began to trace his paw on the table, bored. "Frankly though, the attitude only goes so far. You're boring me to tears."

Makoto slammed his palms on the table, glaring at him. "There's nothing you can say that'll make us start killing each other!" Suddenly, to the teen's confusion, the two-toned bear slammed his white fist into an open palm. _Did he just get an idea?_

"Eureka! That's the problem! All the mystery ingredients are here-right people, right place. So why hasn't anyone killed anyone yet?" _Maybe because we're not all sadistic freaks?_ I internally snapped.

"Wh-what are you...?" Makoto asked, voice dying out.

"Motivation, son! Puhuhu! It's so simple! I just have to give everyone a motive!" M-motive!? "All students report to the multi-media room at once for the brief informative presentation on just what I mean!" He held a paw to his mouth, mimicking hysterical laughter. He jumped off the seat, and vanished as fast as he appeared. Either from a tunnel or something under the table, I didn't know, and didn't really care either.

Motivation. I couldn't recall much of what could motivate me to kill. One of the... bonuses of amnesia, I guess. Even with what I do remember, there's not much holding me from losing my mind. "Still." I stood up, catching everyone's attention. _This seems to be a running thing here. First following Celeste's example in heading to my room, and now this._ "It would be wise to see this 'motivation' for ourselves. For all we know, it could be the matter of life and death. Not... not even our own, quite possibly."

Their faces dropped at that. What I had just hinted at was something that never crossed their minds. That... that people close to us might be used against us... as hostages. Leaving the room before they could argue, I headed off into the rest of the first floor. The different colored lights led me through the halls, and I glanced at my tablet to check which room it was in.

Motivation, huh? It was... somewhat of a curious matter. If it was in the media room, then the item in question should be represented in... disks, perhaps? Or digital images. Something along the lines of that. "Oh. Here we are." Sliding into the AV room down one of the green halls right of a mysterious red decorative door, I surveyed the area. Massive speakers along the walls, a projection screen at the front with desks paired up in twos all in three columns. A partially open box sat on a desk, filled with disks with each of our names on the covers.

Hearing the others approach the door from outside, I quickly snatched mine up and went to sit down. Sliding it into the odd built-in player on the desk, I put the headphones on and pressed play. _Please, don't be anything bad. Please._ The lights dimmed as the gang got situated, and then... it started.

A darkened image greeted me, almost in the same way Monokuma did as he instructed us to head to the gym. I couldn't make out who they were, or their voice; everything about it was... static, and warped. "Aw, Mat. I bet you're feeling quite confused, now, aren't you?" _I'm sorry? Mat?_ Who the heck did I ever allow someone to call me that? That was a nickname that... that... wh-who did I ever allow to call me that? "Then again, I suppose that's to be expected. After all, you were always one to pry your nose into the business of others. Trying to 'go the right path'. But... you didn't. You went against what your dear, sweet, bestie wanted. Now here you are. Hehe. Oh well. That's not my problem. I got what I wanted." _G-got what you...?_ Wha-what did they mean? Who was this person? Wh... what did I do that... I couldn't remember? I was so immersed in what was happening, I didn't even notice the rest of the group enter and sit down to watch their disks. All of my focus was on what was in front of me. "Such naivety was always a trait I enjoyed from you. Well, see you on the outside, dear Matsuko! If you make it there, that is. Put on a show for me, won't you?"

The image faded out, leaving only static. Then... his voice. "Matsuko Hirota, accepted into Hope's Peak Academy. Her friend, her sibling practically, always supported her in her talent... but it seems like... something happened to her memory! To what terrible event did she go through to forget her dear, precious friend!?"

" **Look for the answer after graduation!** "

Everyone, not just me, gasped and shook as all of our videos ended. My face, normally pale, was paper white. Sweat dampened my forehead as I shakily removed my headphones, letting them drop to the desk. "Wh-what is this? What is this!?" Sayaka, who sat in the middle row at the far back with Makoto, looked about ready to run. Her eyes were sunken, and she had the most panicked expression on her face. _I have to get out of here! I gotta get out!_ My thoughts repeated. Over. And over again.

"Puhuhu!" Almost giving myself whiplash, I snapped my head up to look at the screen ahead of me. The bear, sitting in his chair, chuckled at our reactions. H-he was enjoying this. Relishing in our misery. Kyoko stood up from her spot two seats ahead of me, staring him down.

"Who are you, really?" She asked, deathly calm. The rage was there, just as my own was, but buried behind those steely violet eyes. "And what are you getting out of this? Is this all some kind of sick game to you?"

"Yes, what am I getting out of this?" Monokuma asked, almost to himself. "Very good question." As fast as lightning, the camera zoomed in on his face, and I shrieked. The lighting was red, all coming from his shining glass eye. "My payoff... is your despair!" Sayaka screamed bloody murder, finally being set off from the building tension and sprinted out of the room.

Makoto jumped out of chair, running after her and leaving us behind. We all looked at each other as the projection shut off, and I almost shrieked again when I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. Chihiro looked at me worriedly. _H-how long was she sitting beside me?_ "Are you alright, Matsuko...?"

"I-I don't k-know... I-I just don't... I can't..." Chihiro dropped her hand, and grabbed my wrist instead. With her fragile arms, she helped me to my feet and began to guide me out of the room. "C-Chihiro...?"

"I-if you want, you can spend the night with me? I-if that would help make you feel better...?" _Sh-she wanted to do that?_ I stared at her, surprised and... happy. She didn't want to let me stay with her, and that was clearly against regulations-as far as I knew-but still... she wanted to help me.

We stopped in front of her bedroom, and I smiled shyly. "Sure, Chihiro. Th-that's very nice of you." Chihiro opened up the door, and we stepped inside just as the school announcement to announce nighttime began. "Chihiro, if you don't mind me asking... what was on your disk?"

Chihiro tensed, shoulders raising for a moment. _Did I overstep boundaries?_ "I... I..." Chihiro moved to the bed, and sat down. Looking at her lap, she finally lifted her head to meet my eyes. "My... my dad. It was my dad." _Oh, Chihiro._

Exhaling deeply, I moved to sit down next to her. "I'm sure he's fine. There'd be no motivation for us to k... do that, if they offed our friends and family. I-I don't understand what my video was about, by the way. Chihiro, for some reason this person seemed... to know about my missing memories."

"You couldn't see them?" She asked curiously. I nodded, looking ahead in thought.

"Everything was darkened and muffled. I couldn't tell who was speaking, or what they looked like. All I know is that they're responsible for my current state." I flopped backwards onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Life sucks."

Chihiro giggled, and leaned back to join me. "At least... we've all got each other. Friends don't kill each other."

"Hehe... yeah. Friends." It's... weird. I didn't know why, but... this felt familiar. Like... like somewhere deep, deep down... me and Chihiro were friends before this. Before this entire mess happened, and we were all locked away inside Hope's Peak. _It's... a comforting thought, despite how weird it is. Hehe. Y... yeah. Comfort... ing..._

(Time Skip)

Morning came, and with it was another painful reminder of our capture. _I wonder if I can find a way around that morning announcement. I swear that's going to drive me insane._ Taking turns using the washroom, we headed out to the dining area to meet up with everyone else. Though... while Chihiro and me chatted animatedly, something stuck out in my mind. Something that was... odd.

Her bathroom door... didn't have a lock.

Why though? If memory served me correctly, and it usually did, only the guys didn't have locks. The girls did. So... maybe Chihiro was put into a room without one by accident? _I should ask about this later today._ Entering the room, we saw Taka, Hina, and Sayaka already present. "Good morning, everyone," I said, making ourselves known.

"Morning, Matsuko!" Hina said, smiling. I supposed our group here would be the model high schoolers. The ones who obeyed the rules, and tried to avoid trouble when they could. Despite Sayaka's appearance, she was quite a gentle giant. Even though she was heavily immersed in martial arts, she never seemed to want to hurt someone on purpose.

After our introductions, and my movement to the kitchen to fetch some juice to start us off, the others began to trickle in. Mondo, Hifumi, and Junko came next. They would be the more average students with a slacker time sense. Makoto came just a few minutes after me and Chihiro, so he was more... in between.

Kyoko, Celeste, Leon, Toko, and Hiro came last. The students who... I guessed they went at their own pace? Followed their own rules, or didn't really have a sense of them. "This still isn't everyone, though," Taka said as I put the glass jars of apple and orange juice on the table before putting the stack of cups tucked under my arm down.

"Hey, yeah," Hina said. "Where are Byakuya and Sayaka?" I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, Makoto look around in realization. _Didn't he not see she wasn't here already?_ That was strange. The girl for the last couple of days stuck to him like clue. Why didn't she show up now?

"What's going on? Did something happen?" We turned to the door as Byakuya walked in, seeing our confused and slightly growing concerned faces.

"Hey man. Is Sayaka with you?" Mondo asked. "I'm starving.

"Why would I have? I just came straight from my room to here," he replied. "Do I look like her keeper?"

Makoto's head went down, and I could see his eyes widen as the others talked about why our blue haired friend didn't show up. Carefully, I reached forward and lightly tapped his arm. "Makoto, is there... something wrong?" He barely moved at my touch before springing up and dashing out of the room.

"I should probably go check on her!" He shouted behind him as he vanished through the door. I spun around to face Chihiro, taken aback.

"I-I don't think this is going to end well... someone should go check on him." I was quiet, and when I saw only a few people heard my soft voice, I pushed back from my own seat.

"Matsuko, where are you going?" Hina asked.

"Sayaka is never late. She's been attached to Makoto ever since we got here. If... if something happened to her, then-"

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

A scream. A scream of pure horror, of something that someone could never unsee fired through my sentence and pierced the already unstable calm we had formed in the school. _Makoto._ If he was... then that means... "she's been murdered." My words froze the crowd, and immediately, almost all of the male students dashed to the room to see if Makoto was alright, leaving Hifumi behind with the rest of us girls.

"M-Matsuko, you c-can't be...?" Chihiro murmured, getting up to see my shaken face. "You don't mean tha-?"

A static sound came from the monitor on the wall, and we all slowly turned to see Monokuma. "Ding ding ding! Well, looky here! Finally, someone took some initiative! That's three people, for those who aren't counting. Now then, everyone head down to the gym pronto! It's time to get this show on the road!"

"Show!?" Hina shouted, glancing from me, shaking, to the sadistic teddy. "Three!? What are you-!?"

"That's for me to know and for you to soon find out," Monokuma replied. "Now get going! Hustle! Vamoosh!" The others shouted, denying the sick idea of leaving to deal with whatever scheme he cooked up, only for a hand to raise.

"Fine. We will be there as soon as we gather the others." The monitor shut off, and the remaining group and me stared at Kyoko, stunned. "It is not like we can ignore what has happened, but whether you all like it or not, we have to listen to the bear. Especially right now."

"Th-that's ridiculous!" Toko stammered, looking extremely pale. "What, are w-we supposed to just go along with this!?"

"... we don't have much choice," I murmured. "With tensions high, acting out could only result in possibly... more fatalities." The other guys came back inside, all looking quite shaken. Mondo and Taka each held onto one of Makotos arms, keeping him upright. The poor teen was passed out cold, head drooping down. "What did you find?"

"St... stabbed," Leon forced out. "Someone stabbed her to death in the bathroom. Makoto found her slumped against the wall and passed out. A kitchen knife shoved through the middle of her chest, and blood was just... everywhere; some still dripping from the fatal wound. It was on the walls, and her shirt was just... argh! I can't get it out of my head!" He gripped the sides of his orange locks, tugging at them. I wasn't sure why we split off like that, guys going and the girls staying behind. No matter, but still... each one of them, even Byakuya... looked sick. Shocked by what they had discovered after their friend's fainting spell. _Thank goodness not all of us went to see for ourselves._

"Are all of you alright?" Taka asked, looking at us. "We heard part of the announcement of heading to the gym."

"Yes," Celeste responded. Somehow, even after all of that, she was keeping a calm and relaxed composure. _She's probably freaking out as much as the rest of us._ "It would appear to learn more, we have to return to the gymnasium."

"B-but that's insane!" He shouted. "How could you all be so self-!?"

"Finish that sentence," I cut in. "And I will find a way to keep your mouth shut for the rest of our stay here." I glanced to Kyoko. "Kyoko said, and we all agreed with her, that it would be best to avoid more casualties while we try to figure this out." I could see Byakuya wanted to argue against that, but I moved past them towards the door. "I-we need answers. We need to figure this out, and fighting and running around like chickens with our heads chopped off isn't going to help." _You know, I think that's the most I've spoken to the majority since I got here. Gee, I'm antisocial._

Point made. As one, anxious and nervous group, we all headed to the gym. Once we entered, Taka and Mondo put Makoto down on the lower level of the bleachers. Breaking off to discuss the situation, and try to steady themselves, me, Hina, and Chihiro surrounded the unconscious boy. "Wh-why would someone do this?" Chihiro asked, teary eyed. "Who would m-murder Sayaka?"

"I... have no idea," I said. "But... poor Makoto. He saw that... saw her c-corpse." What was going on through his head, at that moment? What emotions, what... what was he feeling at that time?

A groan came from below us, and we looked down to see Makoto's eyes flicker as he started to come to. "Ah! You're awake! Finally! Are you okay?" Hina asked quickly, backing up to give him some air. Pulling himself into a seated position on the bleacher, Makoto looked around in confusion.

"What the...? Where am I?"

"The gym," Chihiro replied. "Sorry. We carried you here after the others found you passed out."

"Technically, it was Taka and Mondo who did the lifting," I added, hugging myself. I-I couldn't get past this. I couldn't. H-how could someone do this? How could someone kill Sayaka!?

"So what I saw back there... was real?" Makoto gasped, jumping up and making a beeline to the door before Taka latched onto his sleeve, yanking him back. However, the boy's strength was increased with the adrenaline coursing through him. What Makoto saw... h-he shouldn't have. He shouldn't have had to see his friend stabbed!

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Where do you think I'm going!? I can't just leave her, can I!?" Taka's hand was ripped off, and Makoto almost made it to the door before Byakuya spoke up.

"Waste of time, my friend. You can check one, twice, a thousand times. Sayaka is completely and irrevocably dead." _How the heck can you say that so point-faced!?_

"Then why are we standing around with our thumps up our butts?" He whirled around, rage and despair on his face. "Someone's been murdered! We can't just treat this like it's just any other day!"

"None of us want to be here right now, either," Kyoko spoke, walking over from a wall she was leaning against.

"Then... why?"

"Sh-shouldn't it be obvious? Monok-kuma... he told us all to c-come here..." Toko said.

"Well, hold on! Don't talk like that. We all protested it!" Taka joined in. "I mean, we remember the terrible price Sayaka had to pay... b-but...!" His red eyes darted to Kyoko.

"I'm the one who convinced them to come. Right now, we need to do whatever he says. We're his prisoners, right? It's not a good idea to defy him without reason. We don't need to make any more sacrifices than we already have..." _what sacrifices? Are you saying Sayaka was killed for a reaso-yes._ Y-yes, she was. I-if anyone wanted to leave, they had to kill. D-did this mean that... someone around me right now... was a murderer?

Makoto looked down, almost giving a whimper. "He killed her. She was vulnerable and he killed her. I know it!

"Bwah! As if little old me would do something like that?" Monokuma held a paw in the air atop of the podium. "Scouts honor! It wasn't me!" _As if we should believe what you're saying! And how many units does this guy have!?_ "Unless someone violates a school regulation, I absolutely will not interfere. You're supposed to do the killing, not me!"

We drifted towards the stage, away from the bleachers and walls to get closer. "Then..." I breathed deeply. "Then... one of us killed Sayaka, right? One of us is the murderer." The faint warmth in the room vanished as the bear nodded.

"Correct, kiddo! The one who killed her is... one of you!" Everyone looked around, sizing each other up. I-I didn't want to admit it, but I knew it was a fact. One of us, deep down, knew that all to well. One of us stabbed Sayaka to death. "Hmm? What's the matter? You guys all look like you're about to see a dove get shot up with a Gatling gun! Don't you remember what I told you when this all began? One of you decided to kill Sayaka so that you could graduate! Someone's just following the rules. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"This is horrible," Hina whispered. "He's lying."

"Of course he's lying!" Makoto shouted, looking ready to tackle the bear.

"Nope, sorry. One of you is now a bona fide killer. If they wanted to, the one who did it could testify to that little fact." So many faces of fear, suspicion, and confusion. Wh-why? Why would anyone kill Sayaka? Were they that desperate for freedom that they would take the life of an innocent!?

My hearing was muffled through the pounding in my ears, as others began to shout out in denial. How this really couldn't be happening. But... this was just like our introduction to this... game, of the bear's. Byakuya somehow got past my mental panic, with a question that slipped my mind completely. "If one of us really did kill her, that person gets to graduate from the school, right?" Monokuma erupted into laughter at the question, jagged fanged mouth opening to mimic his insane laughter.

"Puhuhu! Poohohoho! Bwaaahahaha! Naive... you're just so naive! You think it's really that easy? You can just kill someone and waltz on outta here? You're super naive! Devilishly naive! HELLISHLY NAIVE!" _I am really not liking where he is going with this._ I inched backwards, gripping Chihiro's arm. "No, no, no, the real thing has just begun."

"The... real thing?" Makoto repeated.

"Are you ready!? Allow me to explain the second part of the rule regarding graduation!" _Okay, let's think here... what else are we missing... hmm?_

"Whoever murdered a student has to get away with it first, correct?" I asked, just as Celeste checked her tablet to verify her own wondering.

"Bingo! It's not enough to just kill someone. You have to actually get away with it! So, a certain amount of time after a murder has taken place, a class trial will begin!"

I-I'm sorry, did he just say trial?

"Everyone will gather together, including the blackened who committed the murder. And they and the spotless students will all engage in one big debate showdown! During the trial, you'll have to present your arguments about who you think the blackened is. And once everything comes to an end, the outcome will be decided by popular vote! If the answer you've arrived at is correct... only the one that disturbed your peace will be punished. The rest may continue their communal life. However... if you choose poorly... then the one who got away with murder will survive, and the rest of you will receive your punishment. Which of course means your school life will come to an end! As far as class trial rules go... that's all there is to it!"

Punishment? What did that mean? "Uh, sir? These punishments... what do they consist of?" Hifumi asked.

"Oh! Well, to put it simply... it's execution!"

... WHAT!?

"Electric chair! Gas chamber! Death by hurricane! Which, yes, we can make happen!" _Heck no! No!_ That was wrong! Either we were the ones to sentence a friend to death, or we were the ones to die at the hands of this psycho!?

"S-so, to make sure I understand... if we get the culprit right, then only they die. But if we get it wrong... all the rest of us get... executed?" Taka asked, stepping back in alarm.

"What a smart little chimpanzee you are! Look at you, implying that you didn't do it without actually saying it!" _Oh, shut it!_ "You all get to play judge, jury, and executioner! Quite possibly at yourselves, so proceed with caution."

"W-wait, hold on a second!" I turned to Junko, who had now decided to add her two cents in. "You're freaking insane, you know that!? A class trial? What the hell is that!? I don't want anything to do with it!"

"Why not?" Monokuma asked, tilting his head. I couldn't tell if he was genuinely curious, or trying to invoke more anger from her. Whatever the reason was, it was working.

"Whaddya mean why not!? Why do I have to waste my time trying to figure out who murdered someone!? I'm not playing if it means getting myself executed!"

"Oh, be reasonable!" The bear shook his paw, own temper spiking.

"Say whatever you want, I'm not gonna be part of this!" The bear couldn't... force someone to take part, could he?

"Don't be so selfish!"

"You're the one being selfish! Kill whoever you want, it's got nothing to do with me!"

"The evil standing here before me... I'm trembling with fear...!" _Okay, now he's clearly mocking her._ "But I won't give in to such evil! It's my style to stick it out ''till the very end...!" Extending his claws to emphasize, Monokuma's red eye flashed dangerously. "If you really wanna get out of here... you'll have to go through me first!" Hopping off the podium, the bear ran forward-err... speed waddled towards Junko, only for the girl to quickly plant her boot on his face. The robot fell backwards, having been pinned. "Gyumeh!"

"Are you enjoying yourself now?" She asked, glaring down at him. _Considering you just gave him a good view up your skirt, that answer worries me._

"Are you?" Huh? Why did he turn it around on her like that? What did he mean... oh no. "Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed. You've violated a school regulation... I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!"

Panic surged through me, and I shoved past Taka. "Junko, mo-!"

It was so quick. So sudden that no one, especially not Junko, could have moved in time. I watched with an outstretched hand, frozen in place, wanting so desperately to yank her out of there from harms way... I was too late. In a flash from out of the floorboards, metal spears fired upwards and... went straight through her body. Arms, and chest, and legs... they came in one end, and clear through the other side. The jagged points creating a spray of blood that covered the floor around her, making a few of us jump back to avoid having the blood, **her** blood, land on them. The audible crunch of bone when two of the spears shattered her ribs, and multiple destroying her spine as the tips ravaged the structure before coming out the other side bounced through my head. Streams of blood flowed from the holes, drenching her hands as she held them shakily in front of her chest where two of the poles came out of her breasts, and trickled down from her mouth. Her body twitched, and she gasped as her lungs were filling with the bodily fluid... or having quite possibly been punctured. "Wh...? H-huh? This wasn't... supposed to... why... me...?" Junko's eyes darted briefly to me, and I could've sworn-it might have been just my imagination, but she gave me the tiniest sad smile. Like... she was sorry for something. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open... and our friend's spirit gave out. She collapsed to the floor in a heap of twisted bloodied metal, in front of all of us. Junko... was no more. Toko's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she passed out. While a few of us, including me, started screaming. Chihiro fell to her knees beside me, holding her mouth in horror. I stared, wide eyed, not being able to look away. Not even when the bear began to head to the stage again, talking to us even though we were so focused on the destruction he and his master caused. Breathing raggedly, I clutched my hands over my chest, not even noticing the spots appearing in my vision.

 _Don't pass out, Matsuko. Don't pass out. Do... don't... ugh..._ the world darkened as fast as it could, and I joined Toko on the gym's floor with a sharp inhale. _Sayaka... and now Junko? Wh... why? Why was this happening to us...?_ I heard Chihiro's surprised and worried cry as my head hit the boards with a crack, and then... blackness.

* * *

 **Woo! The murders have started! Drama getting kicked up a notch, and so does the blood level!**

 **The next chapter might take a little while, as-and I'm hoping here-my summer employment starts next week. This will prevent me from writing, but I should still be around to keep up to... relative date.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	4. Rest in Bloody Peace

**Disclaimer: You know, it's weird how I label the start as a disclaimer when not every chapter I've written as an actual disclaimer in it. Sorry if this was a little delayed. One of my larger stories had to go under a rewrite since chapter 4 of its game came out. It needed to be done before I could start the actual new chapters.**

 **I took into account everything I had at my disposal to write the trial, and changed some parts to speed things along. This is over 9000 words. I've only ever one other chapter this large in my life on here. But... but I just got so into it!**

 **Hourglass Cipher: I'm going to determine that in this chapter. While my more intense story, GFA (specifically the near ending/climax) was borderline, this is obviously going to get graphic in terms of blood and death.**

 **FanOfVariks: I think that's why I like Monokuma so much. He's like a more perverted, non-magical version of Bill.**

 **ultima-owner: Yep.**

 **gregorian12: Junko isn't allowed to roam. What do you mean by that?**

 **Luckygurrl12: I'm going all-out for this. Why Matsuko lost her memories won't be revealed until the very end. Trust me, you're going to like the ending.**

 **Jerzu: Thanks! What Matsuko's ultimate is won't be revealed until the very end. However, you might be able to guess what it is through hints I'll be throwing in the chapters. Who the person on the screen is... no spoilers there either.**

 **So, here is where I give a fair warning. I plan on going through the trial and execution in this chapter. Character death... this is the first story I've ever written that goes into that area, and I knew it was going to happen when I looked up the game. And because of that... get ready for an M rated story. Because I'm saying this now... this will get dark very quickly.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

" **Reading** "

* * *

"... o... ow... m-my head." I whimpered as something warm and soft was dabbed on my forehead, and I blearily looked up. Chihiro's face filled my vision, and judging from the walls behind her, I was resting up against the wall of the dining area. "C-Chihrio...?"

"Are you a-alright, Matsuko? You hit your head when you passed out." She let me take the facecloth from her hand, and I held it to the side of my head. _I passed... out? Wh-why did I-Junko._

"JUNKO!" I bolted up from the ground, and my knees buckled for a brief moment as I ran for the door. I only just reached the exit before a hand wrapped around my arm, yanking me back. "What are you doing!? L-let me go!"

Hina shook her head, keeping her grip tight on me. "It's no point going back, Matsuko. She's-Junko is... I'm sorry." She could barely get the words out herself, keeping her eyes downcast. "He killed her." Her hand slipped away, and I stepped back. _Junko. N-no. Not her, please. Not her._ Out of the small group we had in the school, I was relatively okay with hanging around her at meal times. Most if not all my time was with Chihiro, but I would have called Junko my friend too. B-but now...

She was dead. Butchered. Murdered, in front of all of us.

"Did... did anyone else pass out too?" I finally spoke, as my equally short friend walked over to us. The programmer's arms wrapped around my shoulders, as my breathing came out short and choppy. I-I had to keep it together. I didn't lose my head when I heard about Sayaka, but th-this was different. Someone died right in front of me-her face. J-Junko's face... sh-she was... smiling. Right at me before... why? Why was she smiling? Why did she seem so... so **sad**?

"Just Toko," Chihiro replied. "She doesn't handle the sight of b-blood that well." The sound of footsteps echoed from behind me, and we turned to find Makoto entering the dining hall. "Makoto?"

"Hey guys," he responded. His voice was down, and just like myself, he was rocked to the core from the last few hours. _If I was at for a few hours. Still. Who knows how long Sayaka was... dead for._ "Are you alright, Matsuko? That fall looked like it hurt."

"Just a small headache. I'll be fine. The others were just... keeping an eye on me. We weren't doing any investigating." Hina nodded, smiling.

"She just woke up. This is all a first for me, ya know? I don't have the first clue what I should be doing. And I dunno why, but being in the dining hall helps keep me calm. To tell the truth... I was doing the same thing last night, when Sayaka was killed..."

Makoto nodded, and I wondered if he was jotting that information down in his head for future use. He walked past us, and stuck his head in the kitchen for a moment. "Hey, so... did you notice that one of the kitchen knives is missing from the dining hall?" _There's a what missing?_ Leon... he said there was a knife in Sayaka's chest...

"Yeah, weird huh? I thought it was kinda strange, a knife just suddenly disappearing like that?" She frowned, puzzled at the idea.

"Oh, so it wasn't missing from the beginning?" He asked. Chihiro and I remained silent, watching the exchange.

"Nope. Last I remember, they were all lined up in a nice, neat row."

"So when did you notice one of them had disappeared?"

"Well, I went to go get some tea from the kitchen last night, and all the knives were still there. But when I finished my tea and went back into the kitchen to wash my glass... one of the knives was gone." I held a hand to my chin, running over the words myself.

"So it somehow vanished while you were in the hall. Either you were deep in thought or in conversation with someone, and you just didn't notice it being taken, or you took it yourself." I bit my lip, shaking my head. "Then again, you really aren't the type for murder."

"Makoto... you didn't really kill Sayaka, did you?" What!? I gaped at Hina, as Makoto immediately began waving his hands in protest.

"Wh-what!? Of course not! I would never! Hina... do you really think I murdered her?" Wh-why on earth would she even say that? Makoto had been so nice! To her, to Sayaka, to everyone! He was one of the last people I expected to go and off someone!

"Well... she was killed in your room, right? So I mean... you guys were supposed to be friends, right? But you still... killed her... on the other hand, two people becoming good friends, then one killing the other is a classic drama setup. So when you consider everything together... I honestly have no idea," she sighed, looking at her feet.

Makoto's face fell further, and I patted a hand on his shoulder. "She was... I-I don't know the whole story, but if it makes you feel better, I don't think you killed her." His small smile made me feel a little better. I didn't know everything, but Makoto was **definitely** the least likely to kill anyone. He was a pacifist, and also seemed to get his foot stuck in his mouth.

A ringing echoed through the speakers of the room, and as one, we all looked to the monitor. The dual toned sadist looked at the camera lazily, swirling the wine glass of mysterious red liquid-still probably blood-with such calmness that made me terrified. H-he killed my friend. He killed Junko. He... whoever was controlling that bear... was going to pay. "Erm, so ah... I'm getting tired of waiting. What say we just get started, hm? It's time for the long-awaited... class trial! Now then, allow me to appoint a proper location for the proceedings. Please go through the red door on the 1st floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon!"

Hina, Chihiro, Makoto, and me exchanged worried looks. The red door on the first floor. I had seen it several times while on my walks with Chihiro, but never paid too much attention to it. Unlike the rest of the unlocked doors, it was much more decorative. An odd pattern on the frame with a darker red frame and golden handles. The purple lighting gave way to grey, standing out in its small corner. We didn't speak to each other any more. Instead, we headed there together. Hina at the front, me and my friend behind her, and Makoto at the back.

Dead man walking, in a way. Everyone thought it was him who killed Sayaka. I didn't understand the whole story, but from what I heard in the small part from Hina, was that the girl was found in his room. Which obviously meant he couldn't have done it. My logic? Why make it so painfully obvious? If he was indeed the murderer, he wouldn't have kept the body in his room. He would have had to go through great lengths to hide the evidence. Besides, had anyone met the boy? He was by no means someone you would think of as a killer.

"You're late, Makoto! We've all been waiting for you!" Taka's booming voice greeted us as we entered. I frowned at the accusation, and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Taka, he came here with me, Hina, and Chihiro. By that account, wouldn't that make us all late too?" The boy's mouth snapped shut, and I removed myself from the Ultimate Luck. What could I say? Despite my quietness and reserved nature, I tended to be upfront when I had to be. "You all can put your... proof, as you call it, to the test in the trial."

The teens grumbled at my final statement, seeing how I had gotten the last word. _For now._ "Puhuhu... is everyone here? Okay then... please board the elevator in front of you, which will transport you to the courtroom... where all your fates will be decided." Monokuma watched with a glint in his glass eye from the monitor, taking in our anxiety and stress with dark pleasure. "Puhu. I'll meet you all down there. I'll be waiting..."

The elevator doors creaked open, and one at a time, we all entered inside. It was large enough for all sixteen of us, and possibly more. I noticed Kyoko spare a quick word with Makoto before she herself boarded. The moment Makoto did, the doors closed behind him, and we began to descend. Further, and further under the school to an area we had never seen before. _And... it would probably not be the last._

This was the first murder. And quite possibly, and wouldn't be the last. "I wonder if this is how a death row inmate feels when his time finally comes," Makoto mumbled beside me, earning a concerned look. Was I really the one who believed him?

"Rather than that, is it not more like a defendant waiting to receive his judgment?" Celeste observed, watching the metal walls of the tunnel pass by through the gated cage. The box, with a quiet clank, finally came to a halt. The door opened up with a ding, signalling for us to all step out.

The court room was... odd? Different areas were blocked off with red-orange drapes, and darker red curtains above them. The entire room itself was actually in a circular fashion, but the walls slightly bent every so often with the randomly placed doors. Candles were mounted on the parts of the room where the doors missing, and in each bend was a towering golden structure with intricate patterning. But... it was the center that caught all of our attention.

From the elevator, and every other entrance to the room, led red carpet to a judgment area. Sixt-seventeen stands in a circled around, with the school's crest on them. They curved inwards, with a dial system built above the insignia. At the front of the ring was a tall throne with a small flight of stairs leading up to it, and in said chair... the object of our combined hatred.

"Nyohoho! You've finally arrived!" Monokuma cheered, leering down at us as we moved closer into the room. "What do you think? Doesn't it feel just like a real courtroom? It's like a Hollywood movie set, right!?"

"Not even close. It's freaking messed up," Mondo grumbled.

"Okay, okay, everyone find your assigned seats and sit down! Hurry up now, hurry up!" I drifted around the ring, and found my name engraved on a wooden stand in between Hiro and Chihiro. In front of Monokuma remained the extra seat, because not one of us wanted to be any closer to the cursed teddy.

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out 'whodunnit' then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one... then I'll punish everyone **besides** the blackened, and the one who deceived everyone will graduate!" No matter what happened, the bear was going to get a thrill out of it. No matter what, at the end of this... someone was going to be executed.

"And the killer really is one of us, right?" Makoto asked, just to verify our worst fears.

"Of course!"

"Okay then... everyone close your eyes, and whoever did it, raise your hand!" Everyone sans Monkuma stared at Taka, and I slapped a hand to my head with a sigh.

"Don't be an idiot," Mondo snapped. "Why the hell would they raise their hand?"

"Before we move on and start the trial, can I ask a question real quick?" Kyoko spoke up. Her voice was calm and collected, but there was no doubt she was concerned for her own life like the rest of us. "What's going on with... those pictures?"

Indeed, they were pretty sick. In the circle where Sayaka and Junko would've been standing, were two pictures mounted on tall poles. Each displayed a grey version of them, with a red X over their face. To show that... that our friends were no longer among the living.

"Why not? I'd feel awful if they got left out just because they died. Friendship penetrates even death's barrier!"

"Friendship... penetrates?" Okay, I was just going to ignore our resident perverted writer.

"Okay, but what about that other empty seat?" Celeste pointed out. "There were only sixteen of us to begin with, so why are there seventeen seats?"

"Oh, no reason," Monokuma dismissed her. "It's just that our little courtroom here can technically fit up to seventeen people."

"That, or it could be for the mastermind." I got a few looks at my idea, but I was sound in my words. The mastermind had a role in this game, just like we did, and it wouldn't surprise me at some point they would join us in person.

Monokuma chuckled, and inched closer to the edge of his seat. "Okay, that about does it for the preamble. Get ready to get started! First up is the case summary. Now, let the class trial... begin!"

If there was ever a time I had to throw away my shy, quiet self, now was the time. "There is no need to continue this idea that Makoto did the crime," I began. This would be a rapid fire event, so I would have to speak quickly. "For one, why would he kill Sayaka in his own room, and do nothing to distinguish the blame away from him? Besides, when I first woke up in the dining hall with Hina and Chihiro, Makoto had come to investigate the kitchen... Hina herself can prove that he didn't take the murder weapon. The knife found lodged in her stomach was a kitchen knife, wasn't it?"

"She's right!" Hina agreed. "I was there the entire time last night, and I never saw him enter."

Toko narrowed her eyes behind her large glasses. "Th-then that just means Makoto and the swimming fool were in cahoots!"

"Swimming fool!? I wasn't an accomplice!" The brunette shouted back angrily.

"Speaking of which, I'd like to ask the bear... if there **is** an accomplice, do they also become 'blackened'?" Byakuya asked, staring pointedly at the dual toned robot.

"So you ask, and so I shall answer!" Monokuma cheerfully replied, somehow gaining a honey pot next to him. His black paw was swirling around the inside, though I doubted it was for actual food. It was probably more for comedic purposes. _After all, I don't think he's capable of eating._ "Each murder is allowed to have an accomplice, but only the one who does the killing will get to graduate." Well, that's a little disappointed to anyone who wanted to try that option. Unless, of course, they were manipulated into it.

"So in other words, two people can work together, but one of them has no chance of profiting from it..." Kyoko concluded.

"Then there's no way anyone would work together, right...?" Mondo asked, eyes darting around.

"But... what if they **did** work together, and they just didn't know about the rule?" Chihiro asked, looking at me.

"Uggh, good grief!" Monokuma shouted, throwing his paws in the air and sending the pot crashing to the floor. "No, okay!? There are no accomplices in this case!" The bear then covered his mouth. "Oops! Did I say that out loud...?" _You're just mocking us now, aren't you?_

"Anyway, I didn't go to the dining hall, and I didn't take the knife," Makoto reconfirmed the point being made. "So I'm not the killer!"

"However, that still leaves how the knife left the kitchen..." Chihiro said. "It couldn't have left all on its own..."

"Hina seems the obvious candidate," Celeste suggested. "After all, she just said she was in the dining hall."

"N-no way!" Hina leaned back, eyes wide. "I swear it wasn't me!"

"Sure, but can you or anyone else prove that?" Hifumi asked. He had a point. Regardless of his... questionable personality, he was right in that she needed an alibi to prove her claim.

"I can." Sakura attracted our attention, arms crossed with her usual stoic expression on her face.

"That's right! Sakura was with me the entire time I was drinking my tea..." Hina explained.

"Uhh... I hate to have to ask, but just to be sure, Sakura's..." Leon looked at her curiously.

"Me." This time, I slapped a hand to my mouth to avoid giggling. We had gone through introductions quite a few times, and after residing in the school for a few days, it was strange he forgotten her name.

"... right," Leon said with a nervous laugh.

"But then... couldn't either one of them have grabbed the knife?" Hiro asked. Hina shook her head, throwing away his accusation.

"Nope. No way! See, I've been kinda scared ever since we watched those DVDs... so I asked Sakura if she could do me a favor..."

"I stayed in Hina's room last night," Sakura continued. "Aye, slept by her very side. Indeed, each of us can give an alibi for the other."

Huh. That was exactly what me and Chihiro had done. My nerves were fired up after watching my video, of whom I couldn't tell, and she was willing to let me stay in her room. "You s-stayed over...? Doesn't that v-violate one of the school regulations?"

"It doesn't," I informed Toko. "Last night, I stayed over in Chihiro's room too. The rules say we had to stay in our dorms... doesn't really say whose room, does it? No problem there."

"It IS a problem!" Taka shouted. "A boy and a girl spending the night together!? It's... it's... unwholesome!"

"But... I'm a girl." I couldn't help the laughter escaping me this time, which only earned me confused looks from my friends beside me. I knew our lives are on the line, but seriously, how was that not funny!?

"Wh-!? You are!? Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Taka apologized furiously.

"Actually... now that I think about it, someone did come to the dining hall," Hina said slowly, the gears shifting in her head.

"Why didn't you say so before?" Byakuya asked, arms crossed.

"She's... no longer with us."

N-no. No way. D-did she mean Sayaka? Makoto's face paled to that of a sheet, and she nodded to confirm our terrible thoughts. "Sayaka. She's the one who came to the dining hall. And then later... she wound up dead..."

"Then... Sayaka is the one who took the knife...?" He sounded so unsure of the very concept, but it was in every possibly outcome true. There was no room for argument anymore. "N-no. She... she was scared out of her wits. She probably wanted it for protection..."

"The culprit must have wrestled the kitchen knife out of Maizono's hands before proceeding to kill her with it," Byakuya said. "In that case, you may have not taken the knife, but you still could have killed her."

"What!?" We were back on that again? _Byakuya, give it a break!_ "No, you're wrong!" Makoto shouted.

"Indeed," Kyoko said. "Makoto may not have been the murderer. Because, you see, if the room did belong to the killer, then they did something most bewildering. And until we unravel that little mystery, simply can't declare that he's the killer."

"Bewildering? What the hell are you talking about!?" Mondo asked, eye now visibly twitching. This trial was really getting into it, and the longer it went, the more energized we were.

"Something was missing from the scene of the crime that by all rights should have been there. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" All heads turned to Makoto, who closed his eyes in deep concentration. The teen was mumbling under his breath, and I could hear him spelling out random letters.

"Uh... how hard did he hit his head when Mondo punched him?" The biker gang leader shrugged, looking just as lost as the rest of us were, and watched Makoto's eyes fly wide open.

"That's right! There wasn't a single hair on the floor!"

"So... the culprit removed some evidence?" Chihiro asked.

"Yes, and if I was the killer, why would I need to get rid of all the hair in my own room? It wouldn't be unusual at all to find my hair at the crime scene, if the crime scene is in my room." Celeste nodded, raising a hand to her mouth.

"The reason all the hair was gone... was to remove any trace that Sayaka had ever been there. That makes sense, does it not?" Kyoko shook her head, making the raven haired girl raise a brow.

"No. If that were the case, they would have had to do something about the body itself, not just her hair."

"If what you're saying is true... is it possible that the hair on the ground was removed with the lint roller kept in the room?" I asked. "Each room has one, so it would have been easy to clean up any evidence."

"Precisely, Matsuko," Kyoko offered me a faint smile. "It's simply beyond reason to believe that the room's owner and the killer are one and the same."

"Then... Makoto isn't the culprit?" Chihiro asked.

"But are you sure we can decide something so important based solely on the absence of some hair!?" I really wanted to slap Taka right now, really.

"No. There are other reasons that prove why Makoto couldn't have done it," Kyoko intervened. "Do you remember anything remarkable about the bathroom at the scene? Sayaka was attacked in the main room first, then fled into the bathroom, right?"

"Yeah, then they ran after her, got into the bathroom, and stabbed her..." Mondo added.

"And how did the killer get into the bathroom? Did they have any trouble with it?" _Uh... where are you going with this?_

"What do you mean...?" Celeste asked.

"It's fairly certain that the killer had some trouble getting into the bathroom... there was clear evidence left behind. Do you remember, Makoto?" Makoto nodded slowly, the glint of an idea forming in his jade green eyes.

"Evidence that the killer had trouble getting into the bathroom... you're talking about the doorknob, right?"

"Huh? The doorknob? What doorknob?" Hiro asked, looking from Makoto to Kyoko.

"The doorknob for my bathroom... it was completely broken. The top part was unscrewed, and the doorknob's about ready to fall off." He turned to Kyoko, and the girl picked up where he left off.

"In trying to bypass the lock, they ended up nearly removing the entire doorknob. This is another most bewildering act for the room's owner. It proves Makoto is beyond suspicion."

"So what, you're saying he wouldn't break the door in his own room?" Leon asked incredulously. "But if the only choice you have is to break it, you break it! There's nothing 'bewildering about it!"

"You still don't see? Okay, then... let's take another look at how the incident unfolded. Hopefully you'll understand..." another fact... well, it does seem odd how a boy's bathroom had the lock broken. A girl's had a lock. _Then again... there was that odd thing with Chihiro and her lock._ But if a guy didn't have a lock, then why would they need to... be broken...

"I got it!" I shouted, slamming my hands on my podium and earning a small shout from Hiro next to me. "Makoto, is it possible that the killer thought they were actually in Sayaka's room to begin with?"

"Wh-no. No, it shouldn't have been. Why do you think that?"

"Because all guy bathroom's have a lock, right? The thing is, if things remained as simple as they were, then wouldn't the killer know that it wasn't locked? Did they think it was a girl's room because it wouldn't open?" Kyoko smiled at my revelation, and I had-knew. I **knew** I was dead on the right path. I wasn't part of the investigation, but my strengths came solely on my smarts. My brain power to look around for the corners that I never noticed before, and exploited them.

"Yeah. See, my bathroom frame is a little wonky. It didn't fit right. Monokuma over there can testify to that." As a whole, we all turned to the bear himself.

"Yep! True as true can be! But ya know... you're supposed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student, right? But to have such a cruddy door... puhuhu...! That's not lucky at all!"

"So the reason the door didn't open was just because it was stuck... but the killer didn't know that, and assumed it was locked. So they tore apart the doorknob to get in," Kyoko said once he was done.

"In that case, the killer thought it was Sayaka's room, and not Makoto's. Hmm... so it would appear that the killer didn't know about the room swap. If Sayaka had been in her own room, then there would have actually had been a lock to break through." I was certain I had impressed quite a few people in the last couple of minutes. I hadn't spoken this much in front of everyone since I got there. Only Chihiro had heard me speak this much.

"So they had no idea how unnecessary their actions were..." Sakura said.

"Ultimately, we can't know if it came open by force or simply by accident, but... the killer must have been considerably confused, with no idea how they actually got the door opened." Byakuya nodded in Kyoko's direction.

"Regardless, it was a pointless act. Wasting time trying to break down a door that wasn't locked is..."

"... definitely something I wouldn't do, since I would've known exactly why it wasn't opening. Right?" Way to go, Makoto! He drove that home quite well.

"That is... a definite possibility," the blond reluctantly said.

"Which means Makoto c-couldn't have done it...!" Toko said.

"Correct. Only someone aware of the room change, being him and Sayaka herself, would've known. Which then... begs the question on... how did the killer get inside anyway?" I held a hand to my chin, confused.

"Yeah! How'd the culprit get into Makoto's room in the first place?" Hina asked.

"The killer got in the easy way, of course." Hifumi looked at the two of us. "If losing the room's key and lock picking are impossible solutions." Right. The idea of her losing the key was too easy of an idea to go on, and the lock couldn't be picked even if they tried. "They could've knocked and said they wanted to talk or something, and Miss Maizono just... let 'em in!"

"No, that can't be it, either," Makoto dismissed him.

"O-ho! Trying to argue against me? Sounds like someone doesn't know his place! Hello!? Why, exactly, can't that be it!?"

"Because Sayaka was already scared, remember? That's why she asked me to switch rooms in the first place. Knowing what she'd been through, I just can't believe she would have opened the door for anyone." Kyoko seemed ready this time with another rebuttal, and this time... it looked like it hurt.

"... what if her being scared was a lie?"

"Wh-what? Wh-what the hell is that supposed to mean!? Why would she lie about something like that!?" Makoto asked angrily, hands clenched in fists.

"I know you don't want to consider it, but look at this and tell me... can you still deny the possibility?" Kyoko reached into her purple jacket, and withdrew a note. A piece of paper with pencil lead all over to reveal a hidden message. "This note states that to whoever it was given to, she wanted to meet them in private, and to come to her room. It even clearly states to check the nameplates. I found a notepad during my search, and I shaded in the top sheet with a pencil."

"It's a classic detective move," I muttered. "And if you found this in your search in Makoto's room-" I ignored the gasp from the boy, which made my heart heavy with my next words-"even if it seems silly, it does show that... that... Sayaka seemed to have lured someone there. Hmm... but if it says to check the nameplates, then wouldn't that mean that... the killer would have gone to where Makoto was sleeping instead?"

"No, that's wrong!" I looked to Makoto, who once again broke through the discussion with a shout. "The nameplates on my and Sayaka's rooms got switched."

"That's right," Kyoko said. "The nameplates got switched, just like the rooms themselves. As a result, the nameplate on Sayaka's room actually had Makoto's name. And the nameplate on Makoto's room had Sayaka's."

"So what you're saying is, the room Sayaka was staying in, was actually marked as her room," Byakuya said searchingly. _Is he always so serious?_

"Plus, their rooms are right next to each other. So switching the nameplates would be no problem." Kyoko looked back to me. "Matsuko's assumption is right. Sayaka was indeed luring someone to the room, and by switching the nameplates, would have attacked the culprit in Makoto's room. And by switching the plates back again, and place the blame on him instead."

"Th-that's no true!" Makoto defended. "What about the golden sword? It seems pretty likely that the killer used it to break Sayaka's right wrist."

"How the hell could you possibly know that's what broke her wrist!?" Leon asked.

"Because the golden covering on the sword is clearly seen on her wrist right where it's all swollen."

"Still, that doesn't mean it was used to break her wrist. What exactly did that look like when you found it?" I asked, looking around. "Hey, I was passed out. You're lucky I've gotten this far already."

"I don't think the fight started with the sword. The sword's sheath had been scratched, probably from the knife Sayaka had. If the sword was used first, there wouldn't be any explanation for the scratch on it." There wouldn't have been time to draw the sword. It was on instinct that the killer grabbed it when Sayaka moved first.

"Which means... Sayaka really was the instigator," I mumbled.

"And more evidence proves that Sayaka never held the sword at all, even after it was drawn. There's a certain part of her body that makes this clear," Kyoko said.

"Her palms, right?" Makoto replied. "There wasn't any gold coating on them either. They were completely clean." When he saw Toko open her mouth, he quickly replied, "and it's not like she could have washed them either. The water is turned off at nighttime."

Man, he was on a roll. Between all of us, Kyoko, Makoto, and myself were running the show. "It would appear that Matsuko was right from the start. Sayaka was by no means innocent. It's almost as if... she had been planning to commit a murder of her own," Byakuya said with a small chuckle. "Using the ruse of a victim to trick Makoto into switching rooms, and with something as effortlessly as swapping the nameplates, would have easily placed the blame on Makoto himself."

I... I couldn't believe it. I had gotten very into this trial. Regardless of never seeing any clues, or the corpse myself... the dead, lifeless form of Sayaka myself... I was able to keep up with every word they said. But even with how sharp my knowledge was, which surprised even me, I-I didn't want to believe. Staring me straight down the throat, and choking me to tears was the gruesome fact... that Sayaka had framed someone close to her in order to break out of Hope's Peak.

"Hey, hey!" I looked wearily up to Monokuma, who interrupted Makoto's weak protest at Sayaka trying to frame him. But... he knew. He knew now that she had tricked him. Played him for a fool. "You guys have totally derailed the argument! You're being super boring right now! Come on, hurry up and decide who did it!" His eye flashed dangerously, making the pit already in my stomach grow. "Wouldn't it be awful if I had to punish you all just because you ran out of time!?"

"Well, that would be easy," Leon said, "but there just aren't any more clues, right?"

"There still might be one clue left... Sayaka's dying message." Her what? She left a... dying message? Leon flinched back in surprise at how hardened Makoto's face got, and it was clear he meant business now.

"Dining-wait, what did you say?"

"The dying message. She wrote something on the wall behind her, remember?" Kyoko asked him. "11037, written in her own blood. There must be a clue about the killer hidden in there..."

"And Sayaka had to have written it. She had blood on her left index finger," Makoto added. "That could only be because she used that finger to write the message."

"I see... she broke her right wrist during the fight, so she'd have to use her left hand to write..." Taka said.

"Hey Chihiro, Matsuko, you two are some sort of computer nerds or whatever, right? You should know all about numbers and crap!" Mondo asked us.

I wasn't a computer nerd. Though... maybe I was? I was able to keep up with her when she discussed programming and other technical information, and most of it I could make replies with right off the bat. A few things remained fuzzy though. Was... was my ultimate really relating to computers? Was I a programmer like Chihiro?

"N-no, that's not... yes, I'm a programmer, but I don't see any kind of meaning in these numbers," she replied with a sigh.

"... of course. It's because they're not numbers." Kyoko had attracted our attention, but before anyone could ask what she meant, Hifumi's face lit up.

"She's right! It's just... look at the numbers assuming they're **not** numbers." Makoto's head went down again, and he inhaled sharply.

"Oh my god... now I see! She wrote down the killer's name!" Everyone gave a shout, surprised at how fast the teen went.

"Huh!? You just shot past the clue part and right on to who did it!" Hina cried.

"S-so whose name did she write...?" Toko asked nervously.

"The key to solving this mystery was simply to rotate the writing 180 degrees. If you turn the message around... it becomes the letters L-E-O-N. In English, that spells Leon!"

Leon? Th-that's-! No way. Out of everyone in the room, I wouldn't have pinned him as-no! "What the hell are you talking about!? I-it's just a coincidence!" The red head shouted, beads of sweat on his forehead. "It's just a bunch of random squiggles that happen to look like my name!"

"How could... how could it be random?" I spoke quietly now, my confidence still high, but... rocked. Shaken. "If she was against the wall, and using her left hand, of course her writing wouldn't be clear. I-there's no way of jumping around it. The letters were inverted, and by all accounts... it spells your name, Leon."

"I'm the killer!? You can't just go and say crap like that!" Leon shouted at me, hair raising up as his anger spiked.

"If you're not the killer, then why did you try to destroy the evidence?" Kyoko asked, arms crossed.

"The burnt shirt piece I found laying by the incinerator," Makoto informed him. "There was blood on it. There may be other people who wear white button-up, but it was the way it was disposed of that made me realize something. You can't reach the incinerator without opening the gate, right?"

"Ye-yeah! And obviously you wouldn't be able to hit the switch to turn it on, either," Leon quickly replied. "You'd need the key to get in. And the one with the key was... the person on cleaning duty! So the killer had to be whoever was in charge of taking care of the trash! Right!?"

Hifumi gave a squeal at the accusation, and Makoto shook his head. "No. Not quite. There is a way to get past the gate without key... with this." He reached into his jacket, and we watched him pull out the shards of some large clunky glass object.

"Hiro, isn't that yours?" I asked, looking up at him. He nodded sadly, visibly disappointed it was shattered to pieces.

"But... how would you use it?" Chihiro asked.

"The killer simply took aim at the incinerator switch and threw the ball through a gap in the gate. All they had to do was hit that switch, and the machine would come to life," Makoto explained.

"Someone threw that... through a gap in the gate!?" Hifumi gasped.

"Remember what you said before, Hifumi? You had the only method of turning it on, so it would have been done without your knowledge. The killer would have done it by throwing the ball at the button without opening the gate. Once they'd gotten it going, all they had to do was ball up the shirt and toss it in!"

"If it was Hifumi, the evidence would've been destroyed much more thoroughly," I added.

"The pinpoint accuracy you'd need to throw a glass ball that far and hit something that small..." Chihiro mused. "Could someone really do that?"

"Th-that's right! There's no way! It'd be impossible!" Makoto was gripping the podium he stood at, knuckles white from the strength.

"Difficult, absolutely. Impossible? I don't think so. Because the killer is... the Ultimate Baseball Star! Isn't that right, Leon!?"

"D-do you have any idea how stupid you sound right now!? Y-y-y-you can't be serious! I...! I...! I'm not the killer! These idiots have got it all wrong, I'm telling you!"

"Say what you want, Leon. But all the questions have been answered, and the truth has been revealed," Makoto shot him down. "Last night, the killer went to the room Sayaka was in. In other words, my room. From what we can tell, Sayaka invited that person there intending to kill them. She attacked them with the knife she'd taken from the kitchen earlier... but then something happened that she wasn't prepared for. They grabbed the fake sword I'd put in my room, and fought back. During the struggle, a strike from the sword broke Sayaka's right wrist... and that's when she lost her grip on the kitchen knife. Finding herself cornered, Sayaka panicked and ran into the bathroom. The killer went after her, but couldn't get the bathroom door open. What they didn't know was that my bathroom door got stuck easily, and there was a trick to opening it. Sayaka knew about that because I'd told her, but of course they killer had no way of knowing. So instead, the killer forced the door open, took the kitchen knife... and stabbed Sayaka. But with what strength she had remaining, Sayaka left a dying message...

to keep the killer from noticing, she wrote it on the wall behind her... and with that, all her strength was gone."

There was no stopping Makoto. He had pieced everything together. With every sentence, Leon's face paled more and more, and each one of us knew the point was sailing home. "With Sayaka dead, the killer quickly began destroying the evidence. First they took off their shirt, which was covered in their victim's blood. Then they took the lint roller in my room and cleaned up the entire area. They wanted to make sure they got rid of any trace they'd ever been there... afterwards, they killer headed to the trash room to destroy their bloody shirt. They tried to burn the shirt using the incinerator there. But the room was blocked by the gate, preventing access to it. So using Hiro's crystal ball which he forgot in the laundry room, it was no problem for the Ultimate Baseball Star in aiming at the button on the other side of the room. It would have been the perfect crime, having destroyed the final piece of evidence. But part of the shirt burnt away and fell out of the incinerator. Which in the end, left a piece of indisputable evidence. Isn't that right, Leon!?"

"So, Leon... do you object to anything that's been said?" Kyoko asked. "If you have anything to defend yourself with, now's the time."

"Do I object...? Hell yes I object! Of course I object! I object, I object, I object! I mean, all of this is just a bunch of stupid theories! You need evidence! Where's the evidence!?" Evidence? Wh-what else could be said at this point. Leon looked ready to leap over the courtroom and strangle Makoto, baring his teeth in rage. "I refuse to acknowledge you! You're stupid! Stupid stupid stupid!"

As the teen repeated the word, getting louder and clearly more agitated by the second, I was worried Makoto wouldn't have any clear reply. Whether he had evidence or not, it was known to all of us now that Leon was indeed the murderer. We could convict him there right now. But it wasn't enough. We wanted a confession. "Then this should prove it! The screws on the bathroom doorknob were removed. The only way to do that would be with a toolkit. I'd like to see yours, Leon."

"And if it has been used, you'd have to explain when, where, and why," I added, leaning forward. "A response such as losing it won't get you out of this."

"Stu... pid. Stu... pid?" He lost. Leon had lost.

"So, you have no rebuttal?" Byakuya asked smugly.

"Then it would seem... we are finished here," Celeste concluded.

"Puhuhuhu... looks like you've reached your verdict! Then are we ready to cast our votes? You all have a lever in front of you. Use it to make your selection. Oh, just to remind you all... make triple sure you vote for someone! You wouldn't want to be punished for something so minor, right?" The lever was next to a selection of different classmates. I... it was wrong. I didn't want to do this, signing away a life to save my own. But... but in this game, I had to abide by the rules I couldn't avoid. Sliding to the image of Leon, I closed my eyes tightly, gripped the handle... and pulled.

"Okay! Then let's get excited! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?" A TV screen above the throne lit up as it showed a casino machine, with three images of every student rolling through it. I spotted the shadowed images of Sayaka and Junko fly past. The pictures slowed down... and it rested on Leon's face. Golden tokens flew out of the bottom as two bouquets of flowers popped out of the corners. A sign reading guilty flashed on the bottom under the middle image.

"Uh-oh! Looks like you got it right on the money! The blackened in this case, the one that killed Sayaka... was none other than Leon Kuwata!" Said teen, said killer, still wasn't speaking, until...

"H-hold on a second..."

"Leon... Leon, did you really... kill Sayaka?" Makoto asked. His tone filled with regret and hurt. His friend was dead... killed... and it was all this boy's fault.

"I don't believe it..." Hina covered her mouth, as Mondo tried to hold himself back from punching him.

"Son of a-what the hell is wrong with you!?" He growled, fingers curling in and out.

"I-I didn't have a choice... it was kill or be killed! S-so that's why... I killed her first. None of you are any different! One wrong step, and you'd be the one standing here! It was complete chance that I wound up like this! I was just... unlucky! That's all..." unlucky, my butt. He fell to his knees, hunched over the stand as he sobbed. His shoulders wracked as all his emotions poured out for us to see, and that cursed bear soaked it all up.

"Boy howdy! The entertainment industry must sure be terrifying, huh!? I mean, to try and kill someone just because of those relationships! She seemed so nice and lovely on the outside, but inside... she'd descended into pure madness!"

"Wh... what did you say?" Makoto looked up to Monokuma, head still down and shaking.

"I understand, really I do. Yup yup! You're in utter despair thanks to Sayaka's betrayal, right? Compassion, intimacy, love... the stronger those feelings, the stronger the despair when they collapse!"

"Stop screwing with us! This is all your fault!" The boy shouted. "Sayaka being forced to do something like that... all of it... everything! It's all your fault!" In a frenzy, Makoto lunged at Monokuma. Even Leon was surprised at the normally pacifist boy doing something so suicidal.

But before he could reach him, just mere inches away, Kyoko's arm latched onto his own. "That's enough." Her grip yanked him back, throwing off his momentum. "If you really want to make her enemies pay for what they've done, you need to let it go for now." Makoto breathed deeply, and with a loud swear rammed his fist into her podium, leaving a faint dent in the polished wood and possibly breaking his knuckles on impact.

"Ahh, that was a close one! I thought for sure you were gonna give me a good walloping!" The bear mocked, watching the 'show'. "Just barely avoided punishment, you did! Now then! Since you so magnificently revealed the identity of the killer during the class trial... the blackened, Leon Kuwata, will receive his punishment!"

Punishment... Leon was... oh no. I snapped to the Ultimate Baseball Star, as the reality of the situation finally set in, crashing down around him. "P-punishment? You mean... e-execution? W-wait a second! I didn't have a choice! I HAD to kill her! Y-yeah, that's it! I was just protecting myself in the heat of the moment! It was self-defense!"

Celeste narrowed her bright ruby red eyes. "How, exactly, was it self-defense? When you forced your way into the bathroom, did you or did you not use your very own toolkit? After she'd shut herself in the bathroom, you went out of your way to head back to your own room... then you came all the way back, broke into the bathroom, and killed her. Am I wrong? You had any number of chances to stop what you were doing. But you chose not to. Is it not because you had an unclouded intent to commit murder?"

"N-no! That's not...!" Leon tried to speak. To protest. But the girl had him pinned. Cornered, and like a caged animal, was looking for any chance to escape.

"Stop it. I've had enough of this." I looked back to Makoto, who by now had his arm freed from Kyoko's iron grip.

"Oh? Are you sure? You were closer to her than anyone, were you not?" Celeste inquired. "He killed your precious Sayaka. Do you understand?"

"I can't say Leon is solely to blame. Of course, I don't plan on blaming Sayaka, either. Because... because the one to blame... is him!" He pointed at Monokuma, who had his head resting in a paw, elbow propped up on one of the armrests.

"S'waaah!?" The bear questioned, drawing out the remark.

"If it weren't for you... this never would have happened to Sayaka, OR Leon! We shouldn't be fighting each other... we should be fighting against the one who put us in this situation! The mastermind!" His words made me smile slightly. Makoto... really was determined for everyone to get out together.

"Uh-oh! Did you awaken to your sense of justice!? Well, it just so happens that there's nothing more unethical than an unwavering sense of justice. After all, it's people with that sort of mentality that perpetuate war all over the world. Is that the kind of justice that's awakened within you!?" Makoto trembled, trying to not let the bear's words get to him.

"Just... shut up!" The robot shrugged, and turned back to us as a whole.

"Okay, well, anyway. More importantly...! Thrills, chills, kills! Let's hurry up and get to what everyone's been waiting for! The punishment!" N-no. Not yet. Please, not yet! I wasn't ready. No one was ready! Leon wasn't ready!

"I'm begging you...! Please, don't do this!" Leon begged, desperation and heart broken as he sprang to his knees. There was no longer any hope he could get from us. He had tricked us, and was willing to let us take the fall. H-he had to be punished...! But... but...

"No more begging! No more excuses!" Monokuma laughed, swinging his legs in insane glee. "You must pay the penalty for breaking the rules! Society demands it!"

"S-stop, please...!"

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star!" Leon tugged at his hair, threatening to pull out chunks of the vibrant red. Skin blue in stress, and sweat pouring down his face, he looked around at us, backing away. "Let's give it everything we've got! It's... PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

"NNNOOOOO!" As Leon let out a howl, a howl of despair, Monokuma pulled out a gavel from behind him. Raising it high over his head, he slammed it down on a red button that had come up out of the floor in front of him. As it was pressed down, a small screen showed a pixel version of Leon in a black and red background. " **GAME OVER. LEON HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!** " The white side of the bear approached Monokuma, and as it passed, it switched to it's twisted and demonic side, dragging away the teen with a chain wrapped around his neck.

There was no time to react. Before anyone could say anything, or do anything, a chain flew out from one the many pathways in the courtroom, snapping around Leon's neck as he looked around at us for help. For... for a single person to stand up for him, and do something to help him avoid his sealed fate. With a force that no one would have been able to fight against, he was pulled backwards. His hand reached out to grab onto the podium, but missed it by inches as he was dragged away across the floor. "Leon! Kuwata!" Several of us, myself included, shouted out his name as he left our sight.

As one, we all rushed after him. While some were slower than the others like Hifumi, or didn't care as much for the victim like Byakuya, we all wanted-no, needed, to see what was about to happen. A flashing " **in use** " sign indicated the correct direction, but-but what was in use!? What did that sadistic bear had in mind to kill him!?

As we entered the end of the room, we found Leon at the center of a large metal room mimicked to look like a baseball batting cage. A scoreboard was mounted on the green cage behind him, with four spotlights shining hot beams on his terrified face. Leon himself was chained to a pole in the middle, legs and arms bounded together, with his hands prying at the collar. His choked gasps were clear heard from where we stood in horror. I latched onto Chihiro's hand, squeezing it tightly. _This was... this was what true despair is._

A machine gun rose from the floor in front of us on the other side of the door, and baseballs were loaded into it by Monokuma, who wore a metal baseball helmet. The machine give a hiss as it whirled to life, and the bear pointed his steel bat at Leon. "Batter up!" He shrieked. "I call this one, The 1000 Blows!"

The first ball came flying out, hitting Leon in the stomach. Spit flew from his mouth at the impact, and he groaned in pain. Then the second, and then the third, all being at a normal firing speed normally associated with a pitching machine. Only six balls later after the 'warm up', did the machine start working at a speed I couldn't match with my eyes. Gears grinding as it worked faster and faster, and if it wasn't enough, the machine gun began to rotate around a track built into the floor. Guaranteeing a strike at every possible part of his body as it's muzzle rose up and down, up and down.

The sound of shattering bone and teeth blended with the sound of the weapon, mixing in with Leon's screams of pain. Blood spatters flew off of him, leaving welts the size of the objects pelting him. Any balls that came flying back were hit by Monokuma, who struck Leon's head. The cracking of his skull, and the blood flying from his mouth... I wanted to hurl. To pass out. B-but I couldn't. I couldn't stop watching this.

Then... the machine gun finally stopped at its original position, and we heard one last cry as dozens of balls hit him dead on in his face. Bruised, battered... and now...

The muzzle lowered, and the gate opened in front of us. 1000 baseballs laid around him, all carrying bloody stains from their target, and the walls around him painted in the crimson liquid. The scoreboard read 1000 points for Monokuma, 0 f-for Leon. The boy's twisted and bludgeoned form hung from the rusted pole, arms draped at his sides. His eyes were still open, but now were bashed into his skull, leaving a disgusting mess of organs and veins behind. Monokuma twirled the bat in his paw, and turned to look up at all of his students' faces. Our... scarred faces, at never being able to unsee the nightmare that befell Leon.

Leon Kuwata... was dead. Killed... right in front of us.

"And... it's outta the park! Ah ha ha ha! AH HA HA HA HA HA!"

* * *

 **To be fair, chapters aren't going to be this long. But when there's a chapter with a trial in it... length goes a little overboard.**

 **Did you know that in some cases, Kyoko never showed up to the morning meetings, while in other cases it's never clearly mentioned? It's not something Matsuko really picks up on, and I didn't even bother including it since that part came mostly from the animation instead of the game.**

 **I also noticed that while I did skip those 3 days of waiting for the first murder in the game, I had a point to that. Mostly... I didn't want to drag this story on forever. Things really pick up after the first trial, so I wanted to get right to it.**

 **Summer employment had started up, and it's one of two reasons why I hadn't had time to write. The other was the release of chapter 4 of Bendy which required me to start up that story again from its hiatus. Danganronpa will indeed continue through the summer, and I'm hoping updates will be much more common.**

 **One more thing before I wrap this up. When Makoto was mumbling to himself, that was the mini game that happened when he was picking up on parts from the trial. I thought it was a funny thing to throw in there, that will definitely appear again in later trials.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	5. Secrets Waiting to be Unlocked

**Disclaimer: Holy... yikes. Okay, I have only written something that intense before for a small moment in my largest story on the site, but... whoa. My mind can go to some dark places to describe how the execution in the game went down.**

 **ultima-owner: I'm only starting to play the game myself, and have already watched playthroughs, watched the anime, and read the manga. I know everything already. Not sure if you do or not from your review, but let's try and avoid spoiling it.**

 **Luckygurrl12: Thanks! I'm gonna go all out for this thing! The game itself is pretty long, but I don't plan on making a ton of chapters for this. My max ideal is 30. Seeing how the first execution went down after 4, I think I'm on the right track.**

 **Hourglass Cipher: Danganronpa is an M rated game, so the violence level is to be expected.**

 **iron maker2: Thanks!**

 **For my first M story, this is going quite well! No murder in this chapter, folks! Now that the set up is all done and over with, we get deeper into the actual plot of the game! And, you know, there's some blood in this chapter. Fair warning!**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

I was... dazed. Lost in a fog, with my mind slowly on some sort of altered fast forward and rewind. Everything seemed to slow down, and yet be in a motion that sped past me. I could hear Monokuma's adrenaline shout, relishing in the despair we had to experience and soaking it up like a sponge. I could hear everyone shouting, clutching their heads and trying to make sense of what we had seen.

Leon, a body bludgeoned to death, remained in front of us. Monokuma happily walked out from the other side of the gate as it closed behind him, and continued back to the trial room. Some, like Kyoko, Byakuya, and Celeste kept themselves together; it did not take an idiot to tell they were affected by the gruesome act too though. Chihiro, nearly in tears, kept her hand in mine, guiding me along.

I was in autopilot, not aware of what was happening, or at least not registering it at a normal level. Just... was this what was going to be considered normal now? W-would this keep happening? Someone getting killed out of fear, out of these... motives, that the mastermind created? _Why...? Why us? What did we do to deserve any of this...!?_

Threats were being hurled around at the bear, who continued his crazed laughter. Monokuma just kept taunting us, and every so often, would glance around the room to observe all of our faces. Not just who was talking, but to take it all in at once.

"When you say 'everyone'... who exactly are you referring to?" The question from Kyoko made my eyes dart over to her. Everyone... she was talking about what he said right before... b-but what did she mean? No, no. What did Monokuma mean. What did... who was waiting for the punishment?

"Sorry, I said everything I've got to say!" He replied, putting his paws over his muzzle. "I need to save some of the fun for later!" Right as he said that, he held his sides, cackling again. It was like some sort of twisted high for him; our misery. He... he truly was a monster.

And then... just like that, he was gone. He jumped off behind the throne he was in, and vanished behind it through one of his trapdoors. Leaving us there with a nightmare forced into reality. No one spoke. No one even had the words for what had happened. Their shouts, their... rage from before just... fizzled out. However, I did notice how Kyoko took Makoto's sleeve again, and pulled him off to the side to talk to him.

S... Sayaka. Without a doubt, Kyoko had pieced it together that the singer was conspiring against her friend from the start. But it would appear that Kyoko had wanted him to figure it out for himself. If she had gone and told him... it wouldn't have been good. Not as if he would've lashed out, but he had to accept the truth on his own. Putting the clues he had gathered together.

"M-Matsuko..." I looked to my friend, as she had started to move behind me back to the elevator. "Come on."

"Oh... right..." our quiet voices matched. I was stubborn at times, and hard headed. I was smart, and analytical in all the right ways. I had played this trial out quite well, regardless of not knowing any clues. I... still had no clue how I did that. Was my talent, my ultimate... dealing with something that was out of the ordinary? Thinking out of the box, and seeing the smaller details?

Ignoring that for now, even with how well I did, I was... shaken. Rocked. I was still a quiet person when put into a situation I was not comfortable with, and with people I didn't know. I was shy, and that paired me up with Chihiro along with our shared ideas in programming. And right now... we reacted almost the same way in Leon's execution. In tearful whimpering sobs, and brain shutting down in a forced reboot.

With no idea of what to do next, we all drifted to the dining hall. The sleeping area and said room were kept in a different part of the school, with only a hallway leading from one place to another. It would have been weird, actually have beds next to a gym. Once we stepped inside, me and Chihiro moved to a table off to the side. We sat down; the brunette keeping hold of me. My eyes just stared at the tabletop, trying to make sense of it all. Toko and Byakuya were at the same table, but they didn't seem to mind our presence.

The worst of it was... if it did happen again... who would the next victim be? Hina? Toko? C... Chihiro...? I couldn't-I couldn't lose my best friend. W-we didn't know each other for even a week, and yet she had already earned that title. I couldn't lose her! _I can't!_

"Hey... are you okay, Makoto?" Makoto was the last to arrive, his face pale as he heard Hina's question.

"You sure took your sweet time! I was just about to go get you and drag you back here!" Taka really deserved to be slapped. I was making it a note to do once I was... mentally stable. It was underlined too.

"S-sorry..." came the soft reply. Taka's face fell, realizing his mistake.

"So? What happened? Was your room fixed up like he said?" _Huh? What did he mean by that?_ Apparently, in my state downstairs, I had missed a few bits of information the bear had shared with us. "I imagine it would be pretty hard to sleep with a rotting corpse in your bathroom!" That was now underlined, and in bold.

"Why would you say something like that?" Mondo remarked, glaring at him.

"My room was... spotless. There wasn't anything left. Like the whole thing... never happened." Poor Makoto. I didn't think I could live with myself, if someone I cared for was killed in my very own room.

"It must be tough staying there, knowing what happened. Why don't you just stay in Sayaka's room?" Sakura asked him. Makoto sat down at the central table, where most of us were gathered. Toko and Byakuya were a few seats down from me and Chihrio.

"Well... staying there, with her scent still hanging in the air... that would hurt just as much." _I would imagine._ "Plus... I've decided that I can't turn away from her death..."

"M-Makoto..." Hina whispered. She reached over and placed a tanned hand on his arm in comfort. "Hey, cheer up! Getting depressed isn't gonna help anything, right? If we all work together, I'm sure we'll find a way out of here! So everyone just... try and cheer up and get back on track!"

"Is that honestly supposed to make us feel better?" The Togami heir's blunt question cut through any positivism the girl was trying to build like a well sharpened knife. "We were already 'working together' and yet someone was still murdered. Anyone could betray us at this point. Now that it's happened once, it's a question of when, not if, the next one takes place."

"Yeah, because S-Sayaka made the first move..." Toko added.

"B-but... if we work together against the mastermind, nobody'll have any reason to do something like that!" She defended.

"Keep telling yourself that. I'll be over here in the real world with our catatonic friend here." He meant me. I was still unresponsive, with only a small squeeze of my hand in Chihiro's to show I was still 'there'. "Working together, fighting a common enemy... like it or not, it's not that simple."

"... what do you mean?" Hifumi asked slowly. What did he mean? Why was it not simple? Was it the motives throwing us off?

"The mastermind seems to be much more powerful than we ever suspected," Celeste spoke. "They took over Hope's Peak, which was supposed to be well defended, then modified it to fit their desire. They created Monokuma, which seems to be incredibly advanced, and they're providing for our every need. And the cherry on top is the execution we witnessed. Everything has been planned down to the last excruciating detail. This is not the work of your everyday psychopath. Defying them may be too great of a risk..."

"Then... what are we supposed to do?" Sakura looked from Hina's stunned face, having her enthusiasm shot down, to the gambler's.

"Anyone who truly does want to escape... will just have to follow the rules," Byakuya replied instead. "In which case, the only option is to deceive those around you, and win the game."

"N-no..." Chihiro slid her hand out from mine, instead intertwining her fingers in front of her chest. Her response was not one I was expecting, and neither was Byakuya.

"No what?" He pressured, leaning in at our direction. My eyes blinked, and I felt the world begin to correct itself. The conversation no longer going in one ear, letting my process some, and going out again. I was... awake. Awake and... and ready to defend Chihiro if this guy chose to threaten her.

"I don't want to live... if it means killing someone else to do it." I slowly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in close. "I don't want to kill anyone else...!"

"E-easy, Chihiro. Easy." Her small frame shook under my lab coat, but she kept her eyes locked on Byakuya.

"Anyone... else? What do you mean?" Hiro scratched his head, lost.

 _He's so... he's nice, really, but he's so slow._ "We all voted for him... Leon, he... he died because we had to vote," I replied for my friend. "How different is it? Monokuma performing the execution... if we were the ones who gave him the sentence?" A sharp breath of air left me, trying to steady my heart. "W-we had no choice, but... but... who else is there to blame?"

"Matsuko, listen..." I looked over to the main table, hearing Makoto call my name. "No one's to blame here. Not our friends, living or... or dead, and not you. The mastermind is responsible for everything that's happened. We had no choice but to vote, just like you said. And in the end, it was Monokuma who ultimately killed Leon...! So don't be angry at yourself... be angry at the person behind all of this!"

Just as the words left his mouth... the bell on the monitor rang.

"This is a school announcement. It is now 10 pm. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Oh, and one other thing..." o-other thing? Since when did he ever add stuff on to the announcements? _Or... was he listening in on us?_ "It was totally obvious before that you were trying to make yourselves feel better and justify what you did. See you, see you, don't see you, see you! That's about how much I can see you, even when you try to hide!" He sang, swirling his drink around.

He... Monokuma really did see all. Those cameras... had nothing to hide. "Now pay attention and remember this well! The burden of judging others is a heavy one to bear. So be well aware of your actions! Order and stability rely on the sacrifice and responsibility of everyone!" Monokuma growled out the last word, eye flashing red through the screen. "Okay then... sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

The monitor shut off... and Toko gave a frustrated shout. "What w-was that about just n-now...?"

"Was he saying it's our fault what happened? That's pretty cruel, man..." Hiro mumbled.

"That piece of-who does he think he is!?" Mondo roared, slamming a fist on the table and managing to leave a dent in it.

We could've kept talking, venting our emotions... but we couldn't stay in the dining hall anymore. Monokuma's last words rang in our heads, and would unsettle us for the night. As if we weren't already disturbed from the trial as it was. One at a time, we left the room and headed off to our respective dorms. Chihiro kept beside me, and once we reached our bedrooms, she gave me a quick hug.

"I-I'm so sorry..." what was she apologizing for? She had done nothing wrong, and whether or not Monokuma insisted it was our fault Leon died, she shared the blame with everyone else. I brought my arms around her, and returned the gesture.

"I... I am too. Goodnight, Chihiro." We let go, and as she went into her room directly across the hall from me, I unlocked and entered my own. "You."

"Me!" _Was that an echo, because I feel like we'd already done that before?_ Monokuma sat on my bed, legs dangling over the edge. "How's it going, Matsuko?"

"Why do you care?" I asked slowly, keeping close to the wall and inching forwards. I neared the bear, but kept plenty of distance between us. If last time was about laundry, then what was the purpose of dropping by now? "Haven't had your fill of traumatizing children yet?"

"Aw, kid! You cut me deep!" Monokuma hopped to his feet, holding a paw to his chest. "Can't I pay a visit to my favorite student?"

"I'm... what?" Favorite student? Where did that come from? I hadn't painted a target on me like Makoto did with all the questions and lashing out. I kept to the background, and away from all the action. "... why?"

"Oops!" He laughed, covering his mouth. "Don't think you can get anything from me that easily, kiddo!" As fast as one could blink, Monokuma extended his claws, baring them in my direction. "I don't let up my secrets without a fight!"

"F-fair enough," I replied. So... now what? Was there a purpose of the visit, or did he just want to give me a heart attack? Monokuma hopped back into a sitting position, and waved a paw to signal me closer. Still on edge, I kept to the wall. "Then... what is it? You have to have some sort of reason for coming in here after what you've done."

"Straight to the point. I like it. Well, Matsuko, I like the cut of your jib. Getting facts right, exploiting the rules without causing any trouble; you think you're real clever." I wasn't liking this. There some hidden anger there, hidden behind that glass red eye. "But you're focusing way too deep into what's going on behind the scenes! Why aren't you embracing your life here?"

"Because I refuse to accept being trapped in here with a bunch of strangers for the rest of my existence," I replied. "Okay, if that's all you're going to talk about, then can I just get go-aah!"

Despite his appearance, Monokuma moved with a speed I couldn't match. Springing off the bed, his right paw fired towards my own right hand and sank the three claws into the underside of my wrist. A shriek escaped me, and the feel of the sharpened metal piercing my skin made my legs buckle. Falling to my knees, I used my free hand to support myself. His grip wasn't that strong, but the claws did their job in locking under the surface and keeping me paralyzed. If Monokuma chose to, he could rip them out... and let me bleed out right then and there. No one would even know, with the rooms being soundproof. Chihrio... even with being right across the hall, wouldn't know I died minutes after she bid me goodnight.

"I wasn't finished. You playing really well... really ticks me off. A real wild card, you are. So I figured I'd do what any good headmaster would do, and tell you that you did a bear-y good job." His claws hooked under the flesh, threatening to tear upwards. "Yet you can't keep abusing those loopholes forever. The fact this game already started in such a bloody way has me all pumped!" He paused to give his signature laugh, before his red eye flashed dangerously. "Don't think you can get away with all of that crap you've already pulled. Keep in mind who's **really** in charge here. So consider this a punishment."

And with that, he finally yanked up.

A howl left my mouth as the bloodied claws were pulled from my arm's surface. Three long gouges, reaching from my wrist to halfway down my forearm. Red fluid drizzled up from the veins he ripped apart, and already I was starting to feel dizzy. Lightheaded. I collapsed to the floor with a thud, hugging my arms to my chest in a weak attempt to stem the blood flow.

"Boy, that felt great!" Monokuma cheered, holding his stomach and gave a dark laugh. "Don't worry your little head. I didn't dig deep enough to kill you. Just enough to cause scarring and a severe blood depletion!" That was not anywhere near better. "Hmm..." Monokuma hummed for a moment, tapping a red stained white paw by his mouth. "You know, Matsuko, maybe we could make this more than a one time thing, y'know? It could be fun!" My face turned ghostly white, either from bleeding out on the carpet, or from what he was insinuating. Injuring me more? Or... or continuing these secretive visits? I couldn't keep all of this hidden. People were bound to figure it out, an-and I could put myself on the chopping block for being k-killed if that happened.

"Wh... why...? Wh... why me...?" Pure sadistic pleasure was in that chuckle, and he tapped the top of my head, acting like an adult lecturing a child.

"You're my star pupil, kid. You're much different than the other students, and you can bet the next rotting corpse that I don't plan on leaving you alone." The... next? I was right, wasn't I? This killing game was never going to end... until only one of us is left standing. "Welp! Looks like I've spent all the time I could here. Time to go keep an eye on the rest of you teenagers!" He jumped backwards, with enough power to fly over the other side of the bed... and was gone.

Shivering, I struggled to lift the coat off of me so I could see the full extent of the damage. They weren't deep, like he said, but they were long. Long, and breaking one of the main veins in my arm. Looking around for anything to bandage it, I stumbled to my feet and towards the washroom. True, the water was shut off, but there were towels.

Taking a clean white one, I let it change to a rusty orange as I wrapped it tightly around the injuries. My chest heaved with every shaky breath I took, trying to calm myself. First, three murders in one day... and now this? Was... was Monokuma's obsession having anything to do with... n-no. "That's s... silly," I mumbled, walking back out and flopping onto my bed. Not even bothering with the rest of my clothes except for kicking my shoes off, I adjusted myself to support my arm.

From what I had pieced together, everyone had a video relating to someone they would miss in the outside world. But me? I had a video with an unknown person talking as if they'd known me forever. Could they have a reason for my missing memories? And... that meant that... that since Monokuma was also controlled by the mastermind, that meant the person who captured us all in Hope's Peak was responsible for my current state. My lack of memory. And whoever the person who was on my video... was the same person who trapped us there?

"He... he did say I was his favorite." My eyes felt heavy, and while sleeping as I was right now was not the wisest decision... I was lost to the world before I could stop myself.

* * *

"Matsuko, are you alright? You've been staring at the floor since we entered the gym."

Chihiro was right, but... but I was doing it on purpose. Too much was on my mind, and it didn't help that at the front of the gym was that cursed bear himself leading morning exercises of all things. It was even more disturbing that Taka was following along with him, to Mondo's annoyance. The redhead had a brow raised, standing not that far behind Taka, while the rest of us circled around the gym.

Chihiro and I stood off to the wall, preferring to keep to ourselves. After my... shattered state from last night, the programmer had stuck to me like glue ever since I woke up. The instant I opened my door, there she was to check up on me. Her, and Makoto not that far away. The boy was just as a wreck as I was, and probably even more so. He had to sleep in the same room that Sayaka was k-killed in.

So, we all headed to the gym together after grabbing some apples from the dining hall. Which, of course, lead to our current situation of watching the teddy try and pathetically preform squats.

"Ahh, doesn't this feel just great!?" Monokuma announced, sweat on his forehead as he finished. How he could still express such characteristics was beyond me, but it wasn't important to figure out. "Being stuck inside like this, you gotta make sure to stay healthy!" Toko muttered something in response, but either he didn't hear it or just chose to ignore it. "Don't sweat the small stuff! That's my motto. Who, I sounded pretty cool just now, don'tcha think? Did you fall in love with me? Am I just to die for? Am I just to die in writhing agony for?"

"So... why did you call us here? Certainly it wasn't just to make us exercise..." Sakura asked, speaking up for what we all wanted to know.

"Just to make you exercise? JUST to make you exercise!?" Monokuma screeched. "If exercise makes you laugh, exercise will make you cry! Now, if you keep doing these exercises, you will uncover the secret of the Assassin's Fist!" _I'm sorry. The what?_ Chihiro had the same blank and confused look, mirroring my own. "Passed down from generation to generation in the empire of darkness... the power can be yours!"

"That sounds like the kind of junk a middle schooler would come up with..." Hifumi complained.

"It doesn't matter! Just get to the point. Did you really call us down here just to exercise?" Makoto shouted. Thank goodness. We were actually getting to the point of this nonsense.

"Of course not! You think I have that kind of free time on my hands!?" Well, he did have that stupid routine run for ten minutes. "Ahh, I'd like to make an announcement! Every time you overcome a class trial here at Hope's Peak, a whole new world will open up to you!"

"A new world...?" I mused, tapping an index finger to my chin in thought.

"It'd really suck if you had to live here forever with nothing new to stimulate you! I gotta keep you motivated! So go ahead, look around all you want! Enjoy the brave new post-trial world until you explode!" With that, he descended into the floor, leaving us completely lost. _I really have to figure out where those entrances are he keeps using._

"Is he talking about... a way to get outside?" Hina asked, hope clear in her voice.

"That seems... unlikely," Celeste informed.

"Well, we don't know until we look!" Mondo added.

Sakura nodded. "Whatever he meant, it seems we'll have to search the school one more time."

"Okay, then let's split up and start investigating!" Taka commanded. "When you're done, everyone meet back up at the dining hall and we'll share what we found!" Did he really think anyone would follow that plan? Toko wasn't one for gatherings, and Byakuya kept to himself.

Speaking of the heir. "You're basically a one-trick pony, you know that?"

"More like a staple food source! Now let's get moving!" Taking that as the cue, everyone left the gym except me, Chihiro, and Makoto. Me and my friend looked at each other for a moment, and walked over to him.

"Hey, Makoto. If you'd like, you... you can join us in looking around," I suggested, hands behind my back. "Figured that you'd... you wouldn't want to be..." Makoto saved me from my terrible way with words, and held up his hand.

"I get it, Matsuko. Sure, I... I wouldn't mind the company." I sighed, letting my shoulders sag as Chihiro laughed lightly. Playfully punching her arm in reply, we began to trek towards the gym's door. New world, huh? After last night... wi-with the death of three of our classmates, and Monokuma's 'visit'... I wasn't enamored with whatever gift we had received. But Hina did make one point. It might not lead to the outside, but wherever we're going could give us clues as to how get out of this horror shack. _So let's see what the mastermind has in store for us, huh?_

* * *

 **Yes, this was a short chapter** **compared to others** **, but I've been busy. This story won't be abandoned, I reassure you, but updates will continue to be spaced out.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	6. Best Friends Forever

**Disclaimer: I'm back! Been a while, huh? But no matter, because here we go with another chapter!**

 **ultima-owner: True, but let's avoid saying any spoilers in the reviews.**

 **Hourglass Cipher: Trust me. At the end of this, she'll be anything BUT okay.**

 **Luckygurrl12: I'm sorry, but mostly everything you're asking spoils the story. Why Matsuko's his favourite student, the special visits; all of that spoils the plot. However, in terms of your second question, I don't really understand what you're asking. What do you mean by daily cost? Is that revolving around new places being unlocked every time there's a murder?**

 **AFC: Glad you like the character building I have going!**

 **gregorian12: The reason for the mastermind's interest won't be revealed until the end. I have a huge shocker in store for that. What do you mean on Hina's level?**

 **One more thing that I should say. In terms of how canonical this story is, I have no clue if the executions and murders will be the same as in the game/anime/manga. The first three-Leon, Junko, and Sayaka-were to set up the scene, and have it play an important role in character growth. The story revolves around Matsuko, and she wasn't as close to two of the three. The devastation of Junko's death had floored her, and it's going to be the motivation to get as many students out of there.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

"Well, what do you know? The gate's been lifted," I remarked. I stood at the base of the stairs, in between Chihiro and Makoto. "This is what's considered a new world?"

"Maybe there's something that could help us figure out what's going on," Chihiro suggested quietly. From our odd little group, Makoto was obviously the loudest of us all. Then I would be second, and Chihiro would be last. Seeing how on edge everyone was, we expressed our concern more open than others. I supposed that was what drew me to asking him to tag along with us.

"Then let's go," Makoto announced. Nodding, we ascended the stairs, watching the light change to a dark blue at the top. "The second floor of the school. This is as far as the stairs go."

"There must be another flight somewhere up here, but it might be blocked off for now." It would make sense. If... if a trial was needed to unlock this floor, and Monokuma insisted the killing wouldn't stop, then there should be more floors above us. How many was not to our current knowledge, but the basic idea was still there.

To gain more... we had to kill.

"Matsuko, are you alright? You look... really pale again." I blinked, turning to Chihiro's concerned face, and Makoto's slightly alarmed one. Why was he alarmed? He didn't know me that well, and it wasn't like I was close to passing out l-like... last night.

I tugged on my coat's sleeve, keeping it as far down as it would go to cover the scratches and chuckled awkwardly. "Heh... i-it's nothing, guys. I'm fine. Wh-why don't we look around some more?" It was clear they wanted to protest some more, as I was clearly dodging the topic that clicked in my head, but they let it go for now. Makoto took the lead, and we headed off into the floor. Blue changed to a pinkish red, and the area opened up more. Desks were mounted on the side wall by boarded up windows, with small stools beside them. At the far end, the lights changed to green. _Weird color choice, much?_

"Which room should we pick first?" Makoto asked us, stopping in the middle. Chihiro put a finger to her chin in thought, before her eyes lit up in remembrance.

"I-I think I caught a glimpse of a door for a pool as we came up the stairs," she said. "We could start there."

"Pool it is." The new place she mentioned was in the blue space, and said doors were purple in color with an anchor on the left side. Pushing the right one open, we entered to find Hina and Celeste already present. A coil of red and white plastic to separate pool lanes was on the side of the room, along with pool noodles and kickboards on a rack. The walls were painted green with a brown carpet under our feet. _And there's a camera here too-is that a Gatling gun!?_

"Wh-what the hell is that doing here!?" I shrieked, pointing up at the weapon above Hina's head. The four looked up, and I could see Makoto and Chihiro tense as they made eye contact with it. Hina must have already seen it, same with Celeste, as she turned to face me to answer.

"No clue. All we could think of was it had to be about people trying to sneak into the changing rooms." I saw the pink door on one side, and the blue on the other. "Still, it's a cruel way to stop guys from peeping."

"Yeah, no kidding," Makoto muttered, giving the gun a disturbed look. "How do we enter the locker rooms anyway?"

"You need your handbook to get into them," Hina explained. Really? So, was it like a scanner built into the wall?

"Really?" Makoto didn't seem to believe it either, pulling out his own handbook and staring at the device built into the wall.

"Really really!"

"Aah!" The four of us sans Celeste cried out as the cursed bear popped out of nowhere, landing in the center of our little circle. _Where did he even come from!?_ Monokuma chuckled for a moment, amused by our reactions. His eyes lingered on me for a second longer than the rest, and I hugged my injured arm close to me over my chest. I knew he wouldn't try anything in public, but... but I was scared now. Not for my life, no, but for the risk I was putting myself in by speaking to him when I didn't have to.

"If you wanna unlocker the locker room... you'll have to swipe your personal e-Handbook across the card reader next to the door. However, to ensure maximum security within each locker room... only a boy's handbook can open the boys locker room, and the same goes for the girls! And that's the bottom line!"

"Hmm... but what if someone opens the door, and then someone else sneaks in?" Hina asked, darting her head up to the Gatling gun overhead.

"Anyone who commits such indecency will be punished without mercy for their scandalous sexual depravity!" He announced, flashing his claws at the question. I stepped back instinctively, making Chihiro glance at me for a moment. "See, there's a Gatling gun mounted on the ceiling, right? And it'll be all DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA!" He mimicked firing the gun at the wall, and I gulped nervously. H-he was serious. If he was willing to s-skewer Junko for talking back and taking him to the floor, then he'd have no trouble killing off someone else.

Hina stepped out from underneath it to stand beside Celeste, her fears now confirmed. "Well... I guess you were right," I muttered. "It is f-for spying eyes."

"But what happens if someone loans their handbook to someone else?" The raven haired girl inquired. Huh. I didn't think of that one. It appeared that I wasn't the only one trying to look out for every loophole available. "A boy could borrow a girl's handbook, and that would get them into the girls locker room, would it not?"

"Wh-!? That never even occurred to me! To think someone could be so low, so cowardly, so devilish!" I could see the small angry tick on his head, annoyed at having been caught in another slip-up. It still amazed me, actually. How many emotions that this robot could produce. For having a plush face, the mechanical structure behind it did something incredible and terrifying. "Hmm... okay, then how's this sound? Time for a new rule! As of this moment, loaning your e-Handbook to another student is strictly prohibited." He sighed, body relaxing at having gotten that new rule out. "There! So now nobody can give their handbook to anyone else, right? You like that? I'm kind of a genius, right? It's 'cause my brain is 100 percent cotton!"

"Liar," I coughed into my arm. Monokuma narrowed his gaze at me, and I flinched at seeing the red light flash behind its glass casing.

"I do not imagine anyone would have lent their handbook out in the first place. After all, they would likely be held responsible for anything that person might do using the handbook..." thank you, Celeste, for directing the focus away from me.

"But ya know, you seem awfully concerned with all this locker room security stuff..." Hina mentioned, turning from the girl to the dual toned bear.

"It's 'cause all you teenagers are sex-crazed maniacs! You're at that age you'd try humping a plastic bottle!" I wouldn't think it was possible, but even Celeste's face turned red at the blunt statement from Monokuma. And poor Makoto, being the only male in the room... I pitied him, I did. I managed to catch how he looked at all four of us, just as his face turned as red as a tomato. "So to keep anything unseemly from happening, I have to maintain a rigorous watch!"

"I-I can't believe he's being so casual about this!" I squeaked. It was like whatever stuff we got up to, not just murder, was all some sort of show for him!

"Then in that case, I would ask that you keep the same close eye on our dorms," Celeste added, composing herself. "If some man and some woman decided to share a room, there would be nothing to stop them."

"All I care about is protecting the holy image of the school itself!" Too late for that, pal. Going and killing a student, and then forcing us to kill each other didn't do any greatness for its 'image'. "I don't care what happens in your private dorms! BY force or by cunning, do whatever you want!"

"I hate you so much..." Hina hissed, her cheeks still red from embarrassment and anger.

"Okay, so the new regulation is now in place! See ya!" Just as fast as he appeared, Monokuma vanished. The swimmer's shoulders slumped, giving a long sigh.

"Maaan, that stupid bear totally ruined my mood! Maybe I'll go take a dip to cheer myself up. Celeste, Chihiro, Matsuko, you wanna come with me?" Celeste shook her head negatively, while I held my hands up.

"Sorry, Hina, but I don't know how to swim." I never learned how, since I didn't find it important to know at the time. But that... really wasn't why I said no. I refused to wear a swimsuit now. Now th-that stupid teddy went and did away with my wrist, I couldn't let-I couldn't let Chihiro or anyone else see it.

"There is nothing I hate more than getting water on my face," Celeste informed the busty teen. All of them continued on with the conversation, while my internal war waged on. I-I had to tell someone, right? Keeping this all bottled up, keeping a secret like this in a scenario where I could be m-murdered for it... I-I had to say something, right!?

"Sorry... I'll pass this time," Chihiro gave her two cents. For some reason, Hina seemed surprised by Chihiro's answer. Maybe it was because Celeste and I had valid reasons, but she chose to pursue the topic further.

"How come? When you're in a funk, there's nothing better than a good swim to pull you out of it!" I blanked, and moved over closer to Chihiro. If.. if I was going to do this... then I had to get her away from Makoto first.

"I think that only applies to you, Hina. Hey, Makoto, you're welcome to go on ahead. I want to talk to Chihiro for a bit alone, if that's alright with you." Makoto nodded, and headed out of the pool room. How I was keeping myself calm was far beyond me, but I played it off as being able to keep my emotions in check just as much as Kyoko and Celeste could. "See you two later." Bidding the other students farewell, we left right behind him. Makoto was already several steps ahead, and was off towards the library in the pink lighted area.

"I-is something wrong, Matsuko?" Chihiro asked. I looked around, before spotting a door to a classroom. _Please be empty, please be empty._ Taking her wrist, I dragged her over and pushed her inside the instant I got the door opened. Chihiro gave a small cry, stumbling until she caught herself on a desk. I spun around and closed the door, making sure to lock it to prevent anyone coming in. "M-Matsuko...!?"

"Chihiro, listen. I-I need to ask you something, and please, don't freak out, okay?" If it was possible, the girl looked like she was going to run the moment I said those words. Her eyes were wide, and like a deer, looked ready to run at any time. _Deep breathes, Matsuko. You... you can do this._ Taking the bottom of my lab coat's sleeve, I carefully rolled it up to my elbow, and heard a soft gasp come from my friend.

"Matsuko... wh-what did this? Di-did you...?" I shook my head, putting down what she feared.

"I-I didn't. Chi-Chihiro, when you left me last night Mo-Monokuma was there waiting for me. H-he said something strange about being too good at this game and piecing things together, a-and to watch my back. H-he hates I'm exploiting loopholes, a-and figuring things out when I never had all the cl-clues." Tears stung my reddening eyes, and I felt Chihiro trace a finger along one of the gouges. "H-he enjoyed doing that."

"Matsuko..." Chihiro, her doe eyes wide, looked from them to me. "Wh-why did you hide this from me? I-I could have helped you...!"

"But you can't, Chihiro!" I didn't mean to shout, but I was so afraid. So terrified for my safety. "I don't want him and the mastermind coming after you or anyone else! I-it's not fatal, b-but I can't let anything like this happen to anyone else. You-you guys are all victims here, just like me, but I want to keep everyone together. I want everyone to be nice, a-and to not try to kill each other! Please, Chihiro, just let me keep you safe!"

Chihiro had let go of my arm, and latched onto my quivering body. I didn't notice I started shaking. I was so wrapped up in trying to explain what happened, my nerves and muscles jus-just reacted. "I am safe. We're going to make it out of here together, remember?" Her voice was still quiet, but it was... firm. As if she... she knew there was no argument, and was stating it like a fact. I felt her hand stroke the top of my head, smoothing down my pink spiky locks.

"Ch-Chihiro... hehe... heh... thank you." I stood there, arms limp as she continued to hug me. Finally, the programmer let go, and I was free to dab at my eyes. "We-we, uh, should probably head back down to the dining hall to meet up with the others." It was probably where they would all go. It was our designated meeting space, and I didn't want to leave them all waiting.

"Right." I turned around to unlock the door, and once it swung open, I felt Chihiro's hand intertwine in mine. I looked at it, smiling, and took the lead in heading back down. _We-she wasn't mad at me. She wanted to keep me safe._ A giggle left me, and I squeezed her hand back. _She... she cares. Out of everyone I know, she's... she's actually the first who did._ Things would be fine. I knew she would keep my secret, and if that bear thought he could come after me, I knew Chihiro would have my back. She would help me, and... and I would help her with her secret.

* * *

Everyone had gathered in the dining hall, and as usual, Taka took control. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen! How'd it go? Did anyone discover anything interesting? New? Anything?"

"There's a library!" Hifumi said.

"And a pool! A freakin' pool! And lockers filled with exercise equipment!" Of course Hina would say that.

"There was not, however, anything resembling an escape route," Sakura informed us, saying the most important fact we all wanted to know.

"Yeah... she's right..." Makoto mumbled, head down at the reminder.

"Well hey, there's no reason to get all sulky!" Taka said. "Wait until you hear about my amazing discovery! The warehouse and bathhouse on the first floor of the dorms are now open! And the warehouse is chock-full of food, clothes, whatever you want. There's so much it's insane! So go ahead and stuff yourself to the gills whenever you feel like! Ha ha ha!"

Interesting way to put... still, the idea was nice. "Keep in mind, of course, that going out at nighttime is still prohibited. Please do not forget..." Celeste said.

"Okay, and what about a way out of here? You find anything like that?" Mondo growled. Taka's excited look finally went down, struggling to find an answer. "There wasn't anything in the warehouse we could use to get outta here? Nothin'?"

"U-unfortunately, no.. not that I saw..."

"You people... who gives a crap if we have a pool now!? Or a warehouse, or whatever! We're still trapped in this school! We need to find a way OUT!" Mondo roared, any patience he had long gone.

"Now, now. There is no point in taking your anger out on us. Adaption is the key, yes? For now we must each find a way to enjoy our current situation." While Celeste made a good point, saying that to Mondo right now was like waving a flag in front of a bull's face.

"For now, let's just continue our investigation, and let everyone know if you should discover something," Taka said, head still down. Mondo muttered a swear under his mouth, looking over at Celeste for her advice. It was advice that could drive someone insane, but it was logic that could help avoid murder.

"So, are we done for today?" Kyoko asked. The air had grown heavy, filled with depressed and worried students. Taka looked to her, and slightly nodded.

"W-well... yeah, I guess so." Hope, that so easily turned to despair. It was quite a plan of the mastermind. Whoever they were, they were clever. I had to give them that. They've thought out everything.

Everyone drifted off to their respective rooms, and I headed out with Chihiro again. "Hey... uh, Matsuko? Makoto mentioned something to me as we were all in the dining hall. There's a laptop up in the library that they couldn't get started."

"Really?" That could prove useful. If we could somehow get it started, we'd be able to figure out what's going on around there. "Wanna go upstairs and grab it now?"

Chihiro nodded, a determined expression on her soft features. "I'll go and get it. Can you wait for me in your room?"

"Sure thing." We split off, and I followed the order. Thankfully, to my immense relief, there was no unexpected visitor waiting for me on my bed. No sadistic bear patiently waiting to annoy and threaten me with sharpened claws. "Phew." I yanked my goggles off my head, tossing them onto the table with the notepad while I began to slide off my coat. Draping it over the lone table where I found my room key, I took pause to look at my arm.

The moment daytime had arrived, I scrubbed all of the blood off and rushed to the laundry room to clean my bedding. Thank goodness I did so when I did, as I barely had time to beat it back before I went down with Chihiro to the gym. Still, with the lack of medical supplies, there was no way to stitch up the scratches. "Hope these don't get infected. At least they're starting to scab over."

A quick knock came from the other side of my door, and I walked over. "That was quick." Chihiro slipped inside, taking a seat on my bed as she opened the laptop's lid. "What do you think?"

"I might need to open it up and check the insides to see if it will run. After that, I have a program that should help us out." I smiled, sitting down beside her.

"Not a bad idea. But wouldn't you need tools to get into that. A screwdriver, or something?" I saw her shoulders tense up at that. "Listen, Chihiro. I... I don't really care if you're a girl or not. You don't have to hide it from me."

"Huh!?" Chihiro almost dropped the laptop onto the floor in shock, catching it at the last minute. Clutching it to his chest, he whipped around to stare at me in blatant shock. "Y-you knew? H-how did you-?"

"The first night I spent in your room, I saw your bathroom didn't have a lock. The girls bathrooms did. There was also the fact you dodged swimming, which I guessed it had to do with the changing rooms and how enforced the separation is. Then there was... you thought I was going to spring this on you when I told you about my scars. You were ready to flee when I spoke like that. Plus, you just now tensed when I mentioned the screwdriver, which we all knew only the guys had in their rooms. As a girl, you'd have the sewing kit."

Chihiro had tears in his eyes as he sat the machine down beside him, the green in them hidden behind a veil of water. "Matsuko, yo-you don't think I'm... I'm-?" I pressed a hand over his mouth, silencing him. He brought himself to face me, and it pained me to see how weak he looked. He really feared the worst from me? That I would laugh, or just shove him aside?

"Chihiro, I don't care. Honestly, whatever makes you comfortable is fine with me. There is a clear reason why you dress like that, but I won't pressure you into telling me if you don't want to." I lowered my hand. "Besides, this doesn't break our promise. We agreed to get out together, no matter what. We're focused on following a pacifist route, right? Nothing changes."

Chihiro hung his head, giving a weak laugh. "I-I was so worried you'd hate me for this. Th-thank you, Matsuko. Oh!" He brought his head up, suddenly blushing. "But that means that when w-we spent the night in the same room..."

"I already started figuring it out? It's fine, Chihiro, really. It's not like we were doing anything. Though it does make that thing during the trial, the thing Taka said, even more... yikes." A blush made it to my face, and we avoided eye contact for a moment.

"U-uh, so, should I go, or...?"

"N-nah. We weren't doing anything, and there wasn't anything going on between us. As long as no one else gets wise, we can continue this." Chihiro smiled, and picked up the laptop. He leaned over, sitting it down beside my goggles before flopping onto his back. "Hehe." I leaned back next to him, and we stared up at the ceiling.

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 pm." We glanced up, seeing the monitor lit up with Monokuma's face on it. "As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then... sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..." Monokuma cut the feed, leaving us alone.

"... how many times has he bothered you?"

"Twice. Please, for my sake, don't leave me alone at night." Chihiro's hand went for mine, rubbing his thumb on the top of it.

"I won't, Matsuko. But... shouldn't we turn the lights off?" We looked up above the headboard and desk, seeing the light switch. _Was I always so emotional and tired when I came here... I don't recall the chair by the desk._

"I got it. Pillow me." Chihiro handed me the cushion, and after weighing it in my hands, I tossed it at the wall. The switch went down as it struck the wall, dropping us into the dark. We heard the pillow fall to the floor with a quiet thud. "There. Better?"

"Hehe. Yeah." The mattress shuffled beside me as he got comfortable, before yawning. "Goodnight, Matsuko."

 _Curse the yawn._ Closing my mouth after the innate reflex, I nestled my head into the blanket. "Heh... night, Chihiro."

* * *

 **Another short chapter, but an essential one none the less. The more important events that happen, the chapter size will be higher. I wouldn't say as huge as 9000, because that was a trial and me getting too excited about writing to stop, but something like that might happen again.**

 **I wrote this all in one sitting, but it took me a long time to get to it. I've had a lot going on, and like I said before, it's hard to get chapters out consistently. It might be a while for the next one too.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	7. Strong in the Real Way

**Disclaimer: Here's the next chapter! From this point on, we're getting really into it. Also, recently I finally got into the swing of revising one of my stories, so I am a little distracted in my writing. No problem. That won't stop this side project.**

 **Hourglass Cipher: That depends... remember how I said things might not always come out the same as the game?**

 **gregorian12: Oh. I kind of guessed that, but I wanted to be sure.**

 **Luckygurrl12: It might switch up now and again. You don't have to apologize for asking questions. I just don't want to spoil anything in answering them. Now, the thing is I can't really respond to the last part either. I have a plan on mixing things up, so saying Chihiro might get 'eliminated' is both a spoiler and possibly incorrect. At least, for now in the story.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

"Puhuhu! Wow, Matsuko, you sure move fast, huh?"

I tiredly blinked, before finding a black and white face inches from mine. "Wh-Aahhh!" My scream earned a shout from Chihiro, who spotted Monokuma standing at the foot of the bed. Somewhere in the night, the two of us flipped over so our heads were at the top, instead of lying across the short part. Scrambling up to the wall, we put distance from the bear, who just continued to laugh. "Why are you here!?"

"Why not?" He replied. "Not doing anything naughty, but still, sleeping with a man on school property would certainly not go well with the other students. You don't want to be found out, do you?"

"W-we weren't doing that!" Chihiro stuttered, waving his hands furiously.

"I know that, but I'd like to see how the stricter for the rules thinks." He meant Taka, obviously. If he thought that Sakura and Hina together was bad, when he thought that the martial artist was a guy, he'd flip if he knew this. "Hey, I won't judge! As long as I don't hear any little feet running around down the road, go nuts!"

"Get out!" I reached for the pillow to throw, but Chihiro grabbed my wrist before I could.

"Don't. We don't want to risk getting in trouble." Reluctantly, I let my arm drop to my side.

"Fine, fine. I know when I'm not wanted." Monokuma hopped off the bed, and waddled off to the door. "But remember, I always got my eyes on you!" To our shock, he opened the door despite it being locked, and went on his merry way. It closed behind him, and we could hear it lock again.

"H-how did he...?"

"I don't know. I-don't think to much about it." I sighed, and slapped a hand to my head. "Of course, he would know about your secret. That thing knows more than we give him credit for." Getting up out of the bed, I shuffled about to put my goggles and coat back on. "Alright. Seeing that we didn't take our shoes off, that's one less thing to worry about. Ready to start the day?" Chihiro nodded as I grabbed for my room key. Exiting the room to head to the kitchen for breakfast, I could hear my friend mutter programming language under his breath. "What are you doing?"

"That laptop's a breakthrough. I think I have an idea to help us, but..." he lowered his voice, eyes darting behind my head. Curiously, I looked up to see one of the cameras. Right. I almost forgot that he had eyes everywhere... curses.

"Then what do we do?" I opened the door to the dining hall, letting him enter before me. "We need someplace to work on this, but someplace without cameras."

"Mornin', guys!" Hina called as took our seats beside her. Makoto was a few steps ahead of us, just sitting down too. "What took you so long?"

 _Uh..._ Chihiro and I exchanged a look. "We, uh... a certain bear decided to give us a wake-up call personally." Some of the faces turned sour at that. "He didn't like the idea of a sleepover. B-but that doesn't matter. Is everyone here?"

"Nope! Still waitin' on Byakuya and Taka," Hiro replied cheerfully. He was slow on the uptake, I know, but his easygoing personality did help ease some stress.

"Knowing Taka, I imagine he is trying to get the King of Tardiness up and out of bed," Celeste giggled.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon enough. Just be patient..." Sakura said beside Hina, holding a protein shake in her hand. She pushed a small basket of fruit towards me and Chihiro, and I eagerly took out a peach to eat.

"Thanks." I bit down, savoring the sweet juice. Celeste frowned slightly at Sakura's words, almost displeased by the idea.

"I don't mind waiting for them, but there is one problem..."

"Which is...?" Makoto pressed, equally confused.

"I am thirsty." The deadpanned look was almost on everyone, and I internally slapped a hand to my forehead. She was... thirsty. For crying out-I thought she was suggesting murder!

"How the hell is that a problem!?" Mondo asked, voicing our annoyance.

"Hifumi, would you make me some tea?" The writer looked over to her in surprise, not expecting the request to be given to him. "Milk tea, if you please."

"Wh... why me?" Yeah, that's what I wanted to know too.

"Your roundish figure reminds me of the owner of the coffee shop I used to frequent." So... was it a sense of nostalgia and familiarity? Or did she just not want to get up and get it herself? "I can feel my throat drying out. Quickly, please."

"O-okay..." Hifumi didn't seem able to refuse the order, and sulked away into the kitchen. Sitting down the pit of my peach, I turned to Hina.

"Hey, Hina. I have a question for you." She leaned in, hearing that my voice was quiet. "Is there any place in this place you haven't seen any cameras?" The girl paused to think, but sadly shook her head. "Oh. Thanks anyway."

"Why do you want to know about cameras?" Makoto asked. As he sat on the other side of me, he heard the question I whispered to her from across the table.

"It's not safe to say..." Chihiro replied instead. He, Makoto, Hina, Sakura, and I all looked to the camera in the corner of the room, seeing the object's lens zoom in. "B-but when we get it started, we'll let you know."

"Alright," Makoto said, sitting upright. "By the way, did you guys see the new rule added this morning?"

"Not yet," Hina answered. We fished out our handbooks, and saw the aforementioned rule. "This is about what he said in the pool room, right?"

"Such an act of would be quite... troublesome," Sakura murmured.

"Loaning... I smell another loophole." I felt the eyes of my group of friends, and a few others on me. Hifumi returned from the kitchen, holding a saucer and tea cup, but remained quiet at my words. "It says loaning, yes... but it says nothing about taking it without permission."

"It would allow the opposite gender to access the other locker room." Makoto identified my revelation, and I could see it bothered the others at the idea. Either for perverted reasons... or a new chance for someone to kill.

"... thank you for waiting!" Hifumi finally said, placing the tea in front of Celeste at the table. While I was thankful he stayed silent for me to say my words, I actually wished he did so sooner. I didn't want to stress out the students more than they already were.

"Hmhmhm. Finally..." she accepted the cup, gracefully taking its tiny handle in her fingers, and breathing in the aroma.

"You c-could've made some for the r-rest of us, you know..." Toko complained.

"I emphatically decline! You're not my type at all!" Toko leaned back, visibly upset. "Hmhm... it's all about the law of causality, basic instinct, act and react!"

Celeste watched the shouting, smiling in amusement. "Well then, if you don't mind... wait." She paused, cocking her head to the side... and threw the cup as hard as she could at the wall. We all sat stunned as it sailed past Hifumi, barely missing his head as it smashed against the other side of the room and fell to the floor in shards.

"What the-!?" Hifumi jumped away from her, holding his head in case she would lash out at him. To be honest, I wouldn't blame him. While the man was... his morals were questionable, yes, but he was still a nice person! Why did she do that!? "H-hey! What are you doing, my little white rabbit!?"

"I HATE this kind of tea!" Her voice was raised, but somehow she still kept her composure.

"U-umm... I don't understand..."

"Imagine we are at a coffee shop-just any normal, everyday cafe. I sit down, and I order some tea. They then ask me, 'would you like lemon, or milk'? Now, further imagine that I replied, 'ah, yes, I would like milk tea, please'. In this case, along with my tea they bring me a small container of milk, yes? But this is not for me! I am among those who prefer the milk to be part of the process from the outset! The fragrance is just so overwhelmingly sweet that way... adding milk or lemon right before you drink is like dousing your fries in ketchup-mere condiments! Whenever looking for a cafe, I first review their menu to see if it offers the proper style of milk tea. And I cannot acknowledge any 'milk tea' that does not add the milk during the brewing process!"

Did she just go on a giant tangent about the process of making tea? Everyone, even Toko and Mondo, stared in bewilderment at the gambler. And poor Hifumi, the subject of the tirade, stood there helplessly. "Umm... I went to all that trouble to make you that tea... and you wanted me to go even farther?"

"Yes, I realize that it can be a bit of a hassle... even in cafes that offer proper milk tea, it is always more expensive than simple tea with milk. It takes more time to prepare, surely, but... why even bother creating a menu if you are not going to offer the highest level of quality!?"

Hifumi looked over at everyone at the table, but we watched as the disaster continued to unfold. Sh-she wouldn't hurt him for making such a small mistake in giving her tea, right? "Well, um... we don't actually have a menu..."

"You little-that does not matter. Hurry up and bring me what I asked for, swine!" Celeste stood up, and wielded her finger, clad in that odd metal decoration in front of her face, almost threatening to slash his face. Her pigtails seemed to puff up in anger, making her appear larger than her already short form.

Hifumi screamed, stumbling backwards. "WHAAAT!? O-okay! Your little piggy will bring it right out!" Squealing in fear, he bolted back into the kitchen, figurative tail between his legs.

"Hmhm. I do so love coercion." Celeste sat down, smoothing out her shirt as if nothing happened. I opened and closed my mouth, brain still trying to comprehend what the **heck** just happened. That flippant mood swing just stunned me, and left us all speechless for a moment. _Well, I can safely say she's the one I'm most terrified of at the moment._

"You were like... a totally different person just now," Hina finally said.

"Yeah... you really went psycho there," Mondo added. Wow. If she even managed to startle him, that I could take notes. Celeste could keep a calm facade, but that was-now made clear-a mask. She hid her emotions very, very well. But even she had limits. Limits that would obviously be tested further down the road. _Best to try and not get on her bad side._

As Celeste sat there, giggling at our reactions, the dining hall doors flew open in a bang. Looking over, we saw Taka storm in. "Bad news, everyone! There is a mystery afoot!"

"Huh? What happened?" Hiro asked.

"It would seem Byakuya refuses to leave his room! I stood there pressing his doorbell over and over, but he never showed himself." Makoto glanced at everyone, and shrugged at Taka's explanation.

"Maybe he just... wasn't there," he replied.

"I'd like to think so. But I'm worried something might have happened to him." There it was. The thing we at first considered when no one had seen them at the start of the day. The idea that one of them was killed overnight, and we were none the wiser. _Think... where could he have gone?_

"We should check the school part, and split up to cover ground," I announced. "In Byakuya's case, if we try not to... think about the case we're all fearing, the library would be the most logical choice." All looking to each other, we left the dining hall and made our way to the second floor. Makoto led the way, with Taka hot at his heels. By the time we reached the room, we could hear the lucky student and the heir talking to each other.

"Byakuya! So this is where you've been hiding!" Taka said, moving out of the way for all of us to enter. Safety in numbers, I guessed. We weren't all comfortable together, but splitting off and being alone created... fear.

"The heck are you doin' here, man?" Hiro asked, leaning back against the wall.

"We were very concerned..." Sakura added.

"Well you had no reason to be. I was just reading." I spotted the lamp and closed book on the desk, and agreed with that notion. "I've never read such a... coarse novel before, but it might just prove useful at some point."

"Wh-what were you reading?" Hina asked anxiously. Coarse novel? What... subject matter did that imply?

"A mystery novel." Hifumi leaned back, visibly worried at that.

"W-wait, so are you gonna use what you're learning in there to betray us!?" I wouldn't put it past him. Byakuya seemed to be the one to purely focus on his own goals, and stepping over people he deemed unnecessary.

"Don't be stupid." Makoto's shoulders sagged in relief for a moment, until... "it's just something to keep in mind."

"Yea-what?" Yeah, what!? What did he mean by that? Was he planning on offing one of us? Manipulation? _Is this all some sick joke to you? You like getting off on this like the bear?_

"If I decide to fight, of course I'll come up with something original. Otherwise, this game of ours will be totally boring, right? It's not often you get to take part in such a high-stakes, high-tension activity." That's it. If he died, I wouldn't miss him. Screw my pacifism. Everyone else could live, but my patience was wearing very thin for him. "So if you're going to do it, you have to make sure it's entertaining." He chuckled at the end, making a dark pit form in my stomach. A hand rested on my shoulder, and to my surprise, I found it to be Mondo.

"What the hell do you mean, 'game'!? That's screwed up!" He shouted at him.

But it **is** a game," Byakuya reminded him. "It's a game of life or death, which can have only one winner. That's all there is to it."

"He is right. It's a zero-sum game." Celeste had now taken the podium of speaking, to which I was thankful for. Any opportunity for Byakuya to stop talking would be a blessing. "It is a part of game theory, a mathematical model. In game theory, what we are going through now is called a 'zero-sum game'. In this type of game, in order for one person to gain something, another must necessarily lose something."

"In that case... the something is life itself," I mumbled, eyes widening at realization. "Nothing will advance for the group as a whole, until another loses their life." I had known this for a while, but had yet to really speak about it to the group.

"So, this game was designed from the beginning to force one of us to try and defeat all the others," Byakuya summarized Celeste's and my points.

"Th-that... that can't be what they had in mind!" Makoto shouted.

Celeste giggled. "This is why adaption is so crucial. If those who want to escape were to disappear, there would be no reason to continue playing the game."

"But why would I want to stop playing? It's so much fun..." Chihiro took that as a sign to grab for my hand, and I felt Mondo's hand on my shoulder tighten. Did I seriously look like I was about to lose it? I-I was collected at most times, and could get shaken quite easily by something... unsavoury. I was quiet, and only talked when I needed or wanted. But this? Heh, the heir was lucky I was held back.

Because the smile he gave us was filled with twisted intent... something not human. "It sounds as if you do not acknowledge even the possibility that you may lose, am I right?" Celeste asked.

Byakuya chuckled, crossing his arms. "Of course." He stated it like it was a fact. As if there was without a doubt he would not lose.

"You do not speak like the others. Exactly what I would expect from the Togami heir apparent." Hiro muttered something under his breath about him being arrogant, and I smirked at the insult.

"You talk like that, but what if you end up dead!?" Hina cried.

"I won't. It simply isn't possible," he informed her.

Mondo finally released my shoulder, and cracked his knuckles. "Who the hell do you think you are!?"

"You know, I still can't believe it..." Byakuya said, ignoring the threat sent his way. Mondo didn't believe it either, raising his brow but still maintaining his anger level.

"Believe what!?"

"That an uneducated, brain-dead, useless piece of garbage like you has survived this long." _Oh... he did not just go there._ Being one of the wise ones, I stepped back as Mondo got ready to charge, rolling up his sleeves to slug the student into next decade.

"I'm gonna-" I covered my ears for a split second, muffling the swear-"kill you!" Not that I had anything against them, but it made my blush as the boy swore so often.

"Like I said. I won't die," Byakuya responded, not bothered by Mondo's rage.

"You keep saying that, but-" Celeste held up her hand, signalling Hiro to stop.

"Do not bother arguing with him. For him, the concept of losing simply does not exist." Mondo's shoulders sagged, motivation to punch him slowly fading out. "He is the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, after all-a boy raised to succeed from the day he was born. He considers victory his destiny, and has lived his life accordingly. Tests and challenges are merely ways for him to stand victorious. Even if it is a life-and-death situation... is that not so, Byakuya?"

"At least one of you seems to understand." Oh, I understood plenty. It was easy to read his personality. Though, his background and upbringing was still a loss. Celeste seemed to know more there than I did.

"It is because I am the same as you. Games are meant to be won." Byakuya actually looked offended by that statement, as Celeste smiled sweetly at him.

"Are you trying to suggest we're on the same level? Close that vulgar mouth of yours." Taken a little aback by that, she covered her mouth.

"Well, well. I do apologize." Finding that conversation over, he turned back to the rest of us.

"Anyway, let me just say this to all of you. You all need to try harder. If an opponent isn't going to give it their best, where's the fun for me?"

"Th-that's a terrible way to look at it..." I turned to Chihiro, surprised. What was he doing? _Is he... speaking up against Byakuya?_ "This... isn't a game. Our lives are on the line, you know... to kill your own friends is... is... it's horrific!"

"Friends? Who decided that?" Chihiro stepped back, but we didn't let go of each other's hand. In fact, he only gripped mine tighter. Holding hands... it was strange. Even though such an action shouldn't mean so much, it showed comfort and friendship in times of struggle."We're no friends. No, quite the opposite. We're in competition-we're enemies."

"B-but... you know..."

"But what? Stop trying to force your contradictions on me and just accept what I'm telling you." Chihiro looked to me, hoping to find the will to keep going against the heir, only for Byakuya to see he wasn't done. "Yes? If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, keep your mouth closed."

Chihiro, with tears starting to spring from their eyes, looked down in defeat. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Hey! You get off on bullying people that can't fight back? You wanna try that on me!?" Mondo yelled at him.

"So, you're back to pretending to be friends, huh? And how long do you think that's going to last?" As Byakuya and Mondo began to go back and forth once again, I put my attention on my cross-dressing friend.

"Chihiro? Are you okay?" He shakily shook his head, and went to dab at his cheeks. I didn't get a verbal answer, but I wasn't pushing him. There would be no point in trying to force an answer out of him. Looking back up, I saw Hina try and defuse the situation, only for Byakuya to push past me and leave the room. I had missed his comments as he left, as did Chihiro, but everyone else kept quiet. My focus had been on my friend, and not whatever rubbish was sprouting from the heir's mouth.

"Was he serious about all that...?" Hiro finally said, breaking the silence.

"He was, without a doubt," Celeste replied.

"Well screw him, then," Mondo muttered, glaring at the closed door.

"B-but what he said... he might n-necessarily be wrong..." Toko stuttered. "I mean, can you s-say for sure someone **won't** poison our f-food?"

"It wouldn't happen," I said. "There isn't access to anything poisonous, and with everyone gathered together, there'd be too much of a risk at being caught." I paused, running over the thought for a moment. "Still, that does raise a point. Health supplies are bound to appear at some point, possibly on a higher floor. Overdosing on a fatal amount of pills wouldn't be too hard, and it would be easy to trick others about it being accidental."

"Matsuko, can you try to be more positive?" Hina asked, seeing my observation had put Toko more on edge than she already was.

"I'm not... I'm not trying to be, Hina. In order to keep living, one has to think of every outcome. Everything that has not appeared yet." I turned to Toko, offering a gentle smile. "As long as there is no motive to pressure us further, everything will be fine. We might not all like each other, but that's no reason to murder."

"Well, it's n-not like anyone would care even if I w-was gone, right...?" Toko said quietly, wringing her hands. _What? Was she-did she really think none of us liked her?_ "Actually, I bet you all **want** me gone! You all think I'm d-disgusting!"

"Of course we care!" I held up my hands, letting go of Chihiro. "Forget about us, Toko. There's people outside this place that miss you, right? Family?" Thankfully, that word seemed to partially calm her down. "As long as we keep our heads, no one else is going to die. Wh-what happened with Junko, Leon, and Sayaka was terrible. But we cannot let ourselves get killed too."

"So what, you telling us you're going to get us all outta here?" Mondo asked. I looked up at his towering form. I barely came to his chest, yet my resolve was more solid than a lot of people currently in the room.

"Yes. If I can do it, I'm getting everyone out of this place." My expression hardened. "That bear... he's going down."

* * *

"Is this... everyone? It feels a little... small."

The next day, everyone had gathered in the dining hall as usual. After yesterday's... events, Chihiro asked if he could work on the laptop by himself. I was a little disappointed at that, but I let him do so. I myself had a few ideas I wanted to share with him, but I had lost track of where he went. I only saw him briefly at lunch and supper, and that was it.

"Even the table looks bigger, somehow." Poor Taka. He looked so lost, staring at our smaller group. Toko had kept to her room, even though I had calmed her down, and Byakuya still refused to join us.

"I assume that is because three people are dead, and two are abstaining," Celeste informed him.

"Yeah, with five people missing, I guess it **would** feel kinda empty," Makoto said.

"Still... I know Byakuya's whatever, but shouldn't we go check on Toko?" Hina asked us.

"I vote no. She's super annoying." It took one to know one, Hiro. He didn't win any popularity contests either.

"How can you be so cold? You are like a piece of rock candy," Celeste pointed out.

"What!? No, rock candy isn't cold! It's sweet!" Taka shouted.

"... anyway, Byakuyas the real problem." That I could agree with. Mondo would be the first to punch him, and I would gladly follow suit. "If we don't keep an eye on him, he might really kill someone. You can see it in his eyes..." Mondo shook his head, a determined glint in his own eyes. "We got no choice! Get some rope! We're gonna hafta keep him bound and gagged!"

"I think that's going a little overboard..." Makoto said.

"He's right! In this situation, there's nothing scarier than when an ally turns loose cannon!" _Huh. Didn't expect Taka to agree with Mondo._ "It's just like when we were kids, and someone would go crazy at sports day or whatever!"

"What the hell are you talking about!? You gonna use the rope to do tug of war or something!? Idiot!" Mondo asked, voicing our confusion.

"I'm not an idiot...!" Taka said, taken aback. "YOU'RE an idiot!"

"Who are you callin' stupid!?" Between their shouting, Makoto glanced across the table to Chihiro. The programmer, for the first time, didn't sit down next to me. He kept his distance from the rest of us, staring down at the table biting his lip.

"What's wrong, Chihiro? You don't look so great..." he asked, leaning closer to see the hurt look on his face.

"Oh, I'm just going through a little... self-loathing." _What? What did he mean by that?_ Makoto looked at me beside Hina, and saw I was just as confused as he was. "Well, after what Byakuya said to me yesterday... I just got so nervous, I locked up. I couldn't say anything. Mondo ended up having to help me out. And even **he** said I was someone who 'can't fight back'... I... I hate how weak I am."

"Chihiro..." h-how was I supposed to react to that? Was this-did Chihiro really think that little of himself? Was this why he chose to hide his gender, and dress as a girl? _He... he doesn't think he's strong?_

"Ahh, I see. So Mondo made you depressed," Hina said sadly. _Oh, Hina. It looks like it's so much more than that._

"What!? How's it **my** fault!?" Mondo asked. "I wasn't tryin' to be mean! Besides, girls are just naturally weak anyway, right!?" With that, Chihiro sniffed as tears began to drip down his cheeks. Girls were by no means weak. I was short, yes, but I could defend myself if I had to. Chihiro though... with his feminine appearance, must have been the subject of bullying. Everyone thought he was a girl, and with that came the assumption he couldn't stand up for himself. _Did-was Chihiro bullied as a kid? Is that why he's dressed as that?_

"A-are you... crying...?" Mondo's anger deflated, seeing that his comment truly got to the shorter boy.

"It's cuz you were screaming like a lunatic!" Hina snapped.

Mondo looked from her to Chihiro, but also paused on me for a moment. As everyone knew, I was the closest to him. Even though they all still thought Chihiro was a girl, the friendship we had hadn't changed. "Hey, c'mon, don't cry... i-it's my fault, okay? I won't yell at you anymore..."

"Really? Not sure I can believe that..." Hina mumbled.

"J-just shut up... I got it!" Mondo's face lit up. "I'll make you a promise as a man!" Chihiro wiped at his eyes, and studied the biker curiously.

"Promise... as a man?"

"Maybe I mentioned this before, but... ever since I was a kid, there was one thing my brother told me over and over again... he said that no matter what, a real man ALWAYS keeps his promises. That's what he left me." _Left...? Did he mean that-?_

"Left you...?" Hifumi repeated, seeing the choice in words as well.

"Oh, yeah... my brother's dead." He shook his head, not wanting to turn the mood sour again. "Anyway, I don't wanna talk about it. Don't wanna make all you guys cry! Anyway, so you can trust me when I make that promise. So you don't gotta cry anymore!"

"O-okay," Chihiro replied. He thought over Mondo's words, and smiled back at him with red in his cheeks from crying. "Thank you... Mondo."

"S-sure..." I grinned at the faint blush on Mondo. This was the most open, and the most embarrassed I'd seen him.

"But..." we turned back to Chihiro. "I still don't like how I am right now. I have to get stronger... if I'm so weak anything can make me cry... that's not good."

"Still, don't stress out too much about having to get stronger," Makoto said.

"No... I **want** to get stronger," Chihiro stressed. "Maybe I should... start working out..."

"In that case, I would be happy to help you out anytime," Sakura told him. The suggestion made Hifumi pale, looking between the small boy to the muscular woman.

"B-but then Miss Fugisaki would get smashed into a billion pieces!" He shrieked.

"Shut up, you. And Matsuko, stop smiling." I shrugged at Hina, still keeping my grin.

"It's not like I fear for her safety, Hina. But really, Chihiro, if you ever need help, you can come to me. Mostly because I'm the only girl here who relates to you on a height level. I'm not weak, physically, but I'm strong-willed."

"Strong-willed... hehe. Everyone... thank you." His face brightened, and he got up off his seat and grabbed my wrist as he came around the table. "Come on, Matsuko. We have work to do."

"Right. See you, everyone!" I was right. Our strength didn't come physically. It came through our will to carry on through this nightmare. Our mental strength. I-I could help him with that. I could show him how he could get around his timid state, and be the strong person I knew lived inside. _Moments like this show we can all get along. We'll be okay._ I let Chihiro's hand move to my own, instead of grabbing my wrist. _We'll... be okay._

* * *

 **I've been working on this for several days while revising stuff, and I'm really glad I got this one out. Next time... I got something really special planned. Here's where things really change.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	8. The Second Motive

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah. It's been a wait. But thank goodness for that! I got one story fully edited, and my largest story halfway edited.**

 **ponystoriesandothers (twice): I'm glad you're enjoying my first M story. Sorry for gaps in chapters, but this isn't to be forgotten.**

 **Hourglass Cipher: Worried? Perhaps. But this is where things start to get... interesting.**

 **Guest: You mean ship Chihiro and Matsuko?**

 **Guest (another one): What happens with Byakuya remains a mystery right now, as I haven't thought that far ahead except for the main plot. As for Chihiro and Mondo, you will have to wait and see.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

" **Reading** "

* * *

"This is perfect, Chihiro. How have we never thought about this sooner?"

Chihiro smiled back at me, working away at a fast pace on the keyboard. I couldn't see exactly what he was working on, but he occasionally would ask me for my input on certain programming aspects involving artificial intelligence. "The bathhouse shouldn't have had cameras installed, and it would appear I was right."

"Why would it?" I glanced up at the ceiling. Indeed, none were mounted to the walls. "Hmm... the steam from the bath on the other side, plus the sauna itself wouldn't let the tech to work properly. Plus, even the mastermind must have some sort of decency." _Though, there are cameras in the bedrooms, so..._

"Which makes it a perfect spot to work," he continued, seeing that I had got it right. "I can type inside the locker, and nobody should know it's here." I nodded from my spot on a bench behind him, and glanced out at the blue curtains that made the door. "Matsuko?"

"I feel weird." I turned back to him, and quickly gave a reassuring smile. "Not like, bad weird. More... odd. I've been thinking about everything we know so far, and I just get more and more confused."

"None of this really does make sense, does it?" He laughed softly. "But with Alter Ego helping us, we should make some progress on what's going on here."

"Alter Ego?" I repeated. "You mean the AI?"

"Yeah. It's the name I made for him." _Huh. He gave the program pronouns._ Well, if it was based on himself, I supposed that made sense. Almost like Monokuma. True, I didn't know who the mastermind was, but the bear seemed to be referred to as male. _He did call himself the headmaster, after all._ "How do you know about computers, Matsuko?"

"Honestly, I don't really know." Time had passed by in the school at a strange pace. Either it went too fast, or dragged on forever. Right now, I was guessing it was past lunch. Heck, it might be around suppertime for all I knew. We had been working at this for a long time. "A lot of my memory is a weird, fuzzy blank. I remember some stuff, but some key things like why I'm at this school remain a mystery."

"Hmm..." Chihiro hums, thinking it over. "Well, what do you remember?"

"Oh, uh..." I wasn't sure how to respond to that. How personal did I want to get? From what I knew about Chihiro, was that he thought himself weak due to his feminine appearance, and wore those clothes to hide it. I knew he earned the title of Ultimate Programmer for a reason. But me? "Well... it's not exactly a swell tale, I'll tell you that."

Chihiro finally backed away from the laptop, and closed the door of the locker so that only a crack was left. He spun around to face me, but still kept that gentle look on his face. "You don't have to say anything, if you don't want to."

"I-I should. It's bound to come up sooner or later, so why not start now? Hmm... well, I'll start at the basics." I adjusted my seating position, letting my legs go up onto the bench and cross them. "I've got no one waiting for me." _There. That's out of the way._

Chihiro's face was one of confusion now, at how blunt the statement was. "What?"

"I mean it. Out of the few people I could call friends here, there's no one waiting for me out there in the real world." I shrugged, not really bothered with it. I had gotten used to the idea for years, and I didn't expect it to change any time soon. "Been by myself for as long as I can remember. No one at the orphanage ever really showed much interest in me, except for... for... huh." I brought a hand to my chin, closing my eyes in thought. "Why did they show me interest?"

It was something important. Something... unique about me. Was whatever that was my talent? "You were... an orphan?" I reopened my eyes to look at Chihiro, and nodded.

"Yeah. I was young when it happened, and I choose not to think back on it." My words weren't harsh. I chose to think on the future, and what was ahead of me once the reality of what had resulted me being alone settled in all those years ago. "I... it hurt to move on, but I had to. People thought I was... strange. How I chose to keep to myself, and show more awareness of what was happening around me. Which is why I showed such attention during the trial."

"Matsuko." Chihiro moved forward on his seat, only for me to hold up my hand.

"It's fine. I'm used to it. Though, it does make me wonder something else... everyone else doesn't remember how we got here, right?" Chihiro seemed disappointed I changed the subject, but allowed it for my sake. "That can't be a coincidence."

Chihiro seemed confused, and actually a little alarmed at my words. "You mean... like amnesia?"

"What else could it be? I can't remember much, besides normal things like personal favorites and food, but other stuff like my 'ultimate' and why I ended up at the school remain a mystery." I got up from my seat, and gestured for him to follow. Chihiro checked the locker one last time, making sure the laptop was secure, and we headed out. He was much faster than I was with the computer, and while I could keep up with him, my fingers weren't as fast on the keyboard. And right now, speed was our main concern.

"None of us could remember..." he mumbled to himself. "So, do you think the mastermind has something to do with this?"

"I wouldn't put it past them. Theories are the best thing for us in order to come up with ideas on how to get out of here, or on figuring out what's going on." I came to a stop in front of my door, and turned to Chihiro. "I think I'm gonna crash early. It's been a long day." Long, and uneventful except for yelling and the joy that was Byakuya.

"Okay. I might go back and work some more. Goodnight, Matsuko." Exchanging smiles, I retired into my room from the bathhouse. This peaceful time between t-trials wouldn't last forever. The faster we worked, the better. _Hope we get Alter Ego going in time._

(Time Skip)

"I am... so confused and scared at the same time."

Taka and Mondo... were buddies now. I was one of the last people to enter the room, and as I took my usual seat beside Chihiro, I could tell by how they were smiling and going on about some competition that Makoto was forced to referee that things were smooth sailing between them now. _Still, could they stop calling each other bro?_

"Okay. All this brotherhood stuff made me lose my appetite." I grabbed an apple, shoving it into one of my coat's pockets. "Makoto, care to come with me and Chihiro?"

The luckster seemed surprised at the invite, by none-the-less accepted it. Together, the three of us took off from the dining hall, giving a sigh of relief once we couldn't hear the loudness of Mondo and Taka anymore. "Finally," Makoto said, visibly at ease.

"Yeah, that could have gone better," I agreed. "I figured the invite would get you out of there sooner, instead of making it look awkward." _Wait._ "N-not that I think you're awkward, Makoto! Just that, well, seeing how Mondo reacted when you and him were first in the gym..."

"It's fine, Matsuko." He smiled, and I exhaled sharply. Thank goodness it was. I was terrible in situations like that. "I think I'm going to head back to my room and figure out what to do next. What about you guys?"

Chihiro looked at me, wondering what my choice was. While part of me wanted to go and help him with the laptop, I had an idea right before I went to sleep that... I wanted to put to work. "I actually... got something I wanted to do. I'll join you later, Chihiro." The timid boy nodded, accepting my excuse.

"That's fine, Matsuko. I-I can wait for you." He started off down the hallway, but Makoto took his shoulder before he could leave.

"Hey, Chihiro?" Chihiro jumped slightly at the sudden contact, but relaxed as Makoto let go so he could face him. "About before, where you said you wanted to be stronger? I'm not sure what you're doing with Matsuko, but I'm liking the improvement." _Improvement?_

I hadn't been doing much of anything with him. I had said strong-will was more important than being physically strong. Did I actually help him with such a quality? _Hmm._ Shrugging, I headed off towards the school section of the building, and away from the two boys. _The second floor should be suitable._ Everyone seemed to go off in areas like the laundry room-they stumbled across it after free time, instead of having a visit from the bear like I had-dining hall, pool area, and basic common areas. So, if I did this right, nobody should be in the classrooms.

Stepping into the room where I had spoken to Chihiro about my arm, and where he feared I was about to address his secret, I took a seat at one of the desks. Smoothing out my shirt, I looked around. "Nobody's here." Nodding, I turned my direction to the camera in the corner, narrowing my eyes. "Monokuma; a word, please?"

"Puhuhu! Why, Matsuko! Already anxious to have another little chat with me? I'm flattered, really." The bear popped up from in front of me, landing on the desk as I quickly retracted my arms. "So what do you want to know? How to dismember? Electrocute? Maybe some good ol' fashion sacrifice?"

"Why is it always murder with you?" I muttered, before shaking my head. I had to focus. I had to ask what I wanted, and avoid having the twisted toy claw out my veins again. It... still hurt when I accidentally rolled on my arm in my sleep. "I just wanted to talk, that's all. I'm not asking about the mastermind, but I wanted to know about the other stuff."

"Oho! Now we're getting somewhere!" The bear dropped into a seated position, and if it wasn't for his upright back and attentive bead and glass eyes, I would have thought he was just a toy. "I don't spill for just anyone, kiddo. What's there for me?"

"Depends on what I already know is right or not," I replied. "I've been making theories on amnesia, which no doubt mine is the worst out of everyone's. My talent is possibly on par with Chihiro's, yet what it is goes beyond me. But what I want to know is a very simple question."

"Which is...?"

"Why are you so insistent on following me? I dunno, maybe I believe you're reason that I'm too 'good' at this game, but for some reason-"

"You don't believe me?" He held a paw to his chest, making a clearly false sobbing sound. "Oh, woe is me! My star pupil despises me! Boo hoo hoo!" _Yeah. Sure._ He wrapped up the drama routine, and crossed his arms. "Fine, play that way. See if I care," Monokuma sighed, going from dejected to his usual attitude. "My reason is all mine until you piece it together. Not my fault I won't say anything; especially to you."

"You won't... or you can't?" I asked. Why couldn't he say anything? The mastermind was controlling him, right? That's what the cameras were for. The bear and the mastermind were one and the same, using the system to watch all of us. _All of us... all the time? Do they even sleep?_ If they were doing this all alone, with nobody to talk to and having to stay up all the time, it would drive them nuts. Their sanity would be dropping, bit by bit, until nothing was left.

"Can't, won't? Does it matter? The point is, no matter what I tell you, or what you learn, no other student is going to believe you. Richie Rich is certain to turn them against you one of these days, and right now, only your little programmer will stand by you." I glowered at the robot, and found my hands tighten against the edge of the desk.

"Leave Chihiro out of this! He's got nothing to do with you!" Monokuma chuckled, nodding at my words. _Is he agreeing or not?_

"True, yes. But I can't same the same with you. Trust me, Mat, you and I go **way** far back. Farther back than you might think." Far back? That... actually, that shouldn't have shocked me as much as it should. From the video during the first motive, I had started wondering if I actually knew the mastermind. How they... taunted me. Mocked me on if I would actually be the one to win, and how I 'betrayed' them. Was this what he meant?

"I... but I'm not special." I looked down at the table, avoiding his stare as I tried to make sense of this random conversation. _He... he called me Mat. Just like the person in the video. That definitely shows that he and the mastermind are the same. But who the heck is behind the bear? Why are they so focused on me all of all people?_

A soft pat came to my head, and I looked up. Monokuma had returned to his feet, standing right in front of me. His white paw patted the top of my light pink hair, keeping a blank face. _Uh... what?_ "There, there, Matsuko. Not like you won't figure it out one day, but watching you struggle sure is a blast!" He retracted his paw, and glanced up at the camera on the wall. I followed suit, and we stared at the device. "I'm always watching. Not much you can really hide from me." He hopped off the desk, and waddled off towards the door. "Well, you best be heading down to the gym." He slowly turned, and I flinched at the very noticeable red glow in his eye. "It's time for your second motive."

Opening the door with the aid of getting on the 'toes' of his feet, he left me in the classroom to my thoughts. "Second... motive?" _Already? That was-it was already time for the next one?_

"Ahem! School announcement, school announcement." I darted out of my seat to the monitor by the camera, seeing Monokuma with his wine glass. "Nighttime is quickly approaching, but before it arrives... all students, please gather in the gym immediately. Emergency! Emergency!"

A motive to kill counted as an emergency in his sadistic eyes. "I... best not leave them waiting." I left the room, checking to see if anyone was around upstairs to have either seen the bear leave and me follow not long afterwards. Satisfied, I headed to the staircase and speed-walked my way to the gym. Sliding in through the doors, I saw everyone else had already arrived, and made my way to Chihiro. "Next motive," I whispered in his ear, making sure nobody heard me. His eyes widened, and he paled at the reminder of what the first one had done.

"He's arrived..." Kyoko said with disdain. We all turned to the podium on the stage, finding that the bear indeed was now seated on top as he normally was when we were gathered.

"What Hiro heard wasn't the sound of construction... but it **could** have been an explosion!" Construction? What had I missed while I was heading to the gym? "Or maybe a machine gun! Puhuhu... that can kinda sound like construction in a way!"

"What are you talking about..." Makoto asked, just as confused as I was.

"Ah-ah-ah! Beyond this point my mouth is zippered, my lips are sealed, I am fully puckered! It's a secret little secret!" He cupped his mouth, chuckling.

"Fine, then lets move on to what you can tell us." Straight to the point as usual, Kyoko. I wanted to know what his plan was as fast as I could. Murder was going to happen not long after we found out what it was, and I wanted to do my best to stop it in its tracks. "Why did you call us all here?"

"You don't beat around the ol' bush, do ya!? Ready for me to get to the point, huh? But before that, you mind if I vent a little?" He hopped off the stand, and stood at the front of the stage with his head hung low. "I'm low on energy these days. My stitching's even losing all its shine and luster... I'm thinking, it's probably become of this ho-hum, boring old everyday life." His head snapped up, and I saw I wasn't the only one who jumped a little at the red flashing eye. "I'm looking for something with a little more stimulation, something rife with danger and intrigue! Listen, can I just be frank? The next blackened hasn't shown up yet, and I'm getting booooored! So, I've decided to come up with a new way to motivate you!"

It was the bomb drop I was waiting for. At once, while some like Kyoko and Byakuya remained stoic, the rest of us immediately began to panic. Over the torrent of voices, I could make out Makoto asking Monokuma if it was another twisted set of videos intent on driving us to murder. Would it be? Probably not. Whoever was behind this wouldn't resort to the same methods. There was a new one about to happen... but what? "Drive you to murder!? What a mean thing to say! Just awful!"

"I don't know what you've got planned, but we're not going to kill each other anymore!" Taka shouted, hands tight in fists. Not that he would attack the bear, but I could see he was trying to keep his horror and anger in check too.

I blanked at the rest of everyone shouting their protests, and chose to try and think of another motive. What could it be? Hostages? Poison? Time limit? "... embarrassing memories and secrets!" _Oh... not what I was expecting._

Frankly, that was a little underwhelming. I was certain it'd be something more high-risk. "As long as you're alive, it's a given that there's things you don't want other people to know about you! So I did a little investigating of my own, and I dug up some of your darkest secrets!" Monokuma howled, letting his jagged fanged side of his mouth move up and down in laughter. He reached into the podium, and pulled out envelops. Each bore our name on it in neat print, fanned out for all of us to see. "And those embarrassing memories and secrets are all contained in the envelopes I have right here... I'm going to hand them out now, so take a second to take a peek!"

As he finished, he tossed them up into the air, letting them flutter down overhead. Quickly, we all scrambled to grab our own cards before anyone else could see them. Secret, huh? I couldn't think of anything on me. What was there to hide from someone who couldn't remember anything?

" **Matsuko and the mastermind are best friends.** "

"... WHAT!?" My screech echoed with everyone's frantic shouting, seeing what their cards read inside the envelopes. Best friends? What the-did that relate to the theories I was making!? Did I really know the mastermind!? We-were they who was on that video, egging me to murder to see me again!? _What is happening!?_ My body shook, and the paper crumbled in my hand as it tightened. "Wh-what is this!? This isn't true!"

"Oh, you better believe it is, sweetheart!" I hastily looked back to Monokuma. "You have 24 hours! If someone doesn't become blackened then... all your deepest, darkest, most embarrassingest secrets will be exposed to the world! Maybe I'll roll by a crowded intersection in a van strapped with loudspeakers and spill the beans! Kyaaah! Wouldn't that be sooo embarrassing!?" _Why does he have to get such a thrill from watching us panic?_ It disturbed me, how much this AI was enjoying this. _And it won't stop anytime soon either, aren't I?_

"... so that's what you meant by motivate?" I looked over to Makoto, who had his own card clutched tightly in his hand.

"Yup, you got it! They're all pretty unpleasant, trust me. None of you want me to reveal that stuff, right?"

"It's definitely something I'd rather people not know, but...we'd never kill over something like that!" I moved over to Makoto. I was frazzled, but I needed the boy to understand the danger that was happening.

"Makoto, listen. Some secrets weigh more than others... even if one can't recall the story behind theirs. There are people who will do whatever it takes to keep theirs hidden from the world..." I surveyed our group, seeing I had gathered everyone's attention. Including, a certain dual toned bear. "... and there could be one in this group with us, willing to take that risk."

Laughter broke through the heavy curtain I threw up, and we all turned to Monokuma. "Well, she ain't wrong there, Makoto! You may think that memory of yours is a way to connect yourself to the outside world, but Pinky here is dead-on the money! Have fun trying to convince yourselves not to brutally slaughter each other! I know I'll enjoy the show!" With a look of ecstatic happiness, he disappeared into the floor behind the podium.

"Y-you don't mean that, do you?" I looked to Chihiro. The boy was the first to speak up in our stilled silence. "Killing to... to keep these to ourselves?"

"Anything is possible in this game, Chihiro. We have no choice put to look at the worst possible scenario." I directed my attention to Byakuya. "Am I not right?"

"Hm. You are." He moved over to me, but I kept a controlled expression. I wasn't intimidated by him, no, but the fact I was the shortest there didn't help me in my cause. A sly smirk kept me from knowing his exact emotions, and he turned around to face the rest of us. "It would be wise to prepare yourselves. Given our time limit, one should be on guard in case someone does wish to kill for their protection."

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement." We looked to the monitor, seeing Monokuma preform the nighttime proclamation. "It is now 10 pm. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then... sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"Nighttime already, huh? Okay, let's all call it a day," Hiro said. Easier said than done, sadly. After that... motive, I didn't think I would be able to sleep properly. For that night, and the nights following.

"Good idea. We need to prepare for tomorrow," Sakura added. What else there was to say was lost, with the weight of the new motive hanging over all of our heads. One by one, we retired to our rooms. However, I took Chihiro to the side as we neared my own room.

"Please, don't leave me alone for the night." There was more I wanted to say, but I didn't want the few students nearby to get a hint on our plans and own secrets. I unlocked my room, and we slid inside.

"You're scared?" I locked it, and turned to face him. _Great. Apparently, I'm easy to read._ I was better at it with the others, but I had hung around Chihiro just enough for him to pick up on cues.

"Terrified. Chihiro, my secret is putting my life at risk. That theory I discussed with you, about possibly knowing the mastermind, is on the chopping block. If they find out before I figure this all out, it's game over." I moved to the chair, and melted into it with a sigh. I refused to say it was because of them knowing me on a personal level. That secret, what I had discussed with Monokuma, was remaining in a safe until the time was right.

Chihiro nodded, and I just now noticed the clear look of distress on his own face. _What is he so... oh._ "Oh no. It's the truth about your gender, isn't it?"

He held up his card, avoiding my eyes. " **Although he dresses as a girl, he is actually a boy** ," he replied. "I-I don't like wearing them, I-I just find it easier to move along with my life without the teasing." He dropped it onto the bed, and I put my own card on the table. "What are we going to do?"

"I... someone is going to die tonight. As much as I want us all to live, I can't avoid the feeling that someone will act on this. So, until that happens, we just have to stick together. We can't risk ourselves being victims here." He seemed to understand my reasoning, and moved to the farther side of the bed to let me lay down.

"B-but... what if-?" I laid down next to him, and put a finger to his mouth. I saw his green doe-like eyes widen at the action, and I would've laughed if what we were talking about wasn't so serious. That... someone was going to die, and we couldn't do anything about it. _And when that happens... the execution will follow._

"Nothing is going to go wrong. We just... need to stick together." I yawned, and closed my eyes. "Night, Chihiro."

"... goodnight, Matsuko."

(Time Skip)

I woke up way too early, due to my body being unable to calm down from the second motive. The time was unknown to me, as my entire room was in the dark, but I knew it wasn't morning yet. All of my clothes, including my shoes, were still on. _Man, was I that tired?_ "Even my goggles are still... Chihiro?" I sat up, and finally noticed that my programmer friend lying wasn't next to me. "Chihiro?" _Where is he?_

I climbed out of my bed, and looked around the room. The only place he had to hide would have been the bathroom, but that door was wide open. "Where is he...?" I wanted to go to bed, and pretend that nothing bad was about to happen. That... everything was fine. B-but I couldn't. That nagging feeling, of something bad about to happen stayed there. "... I got to find him." Snatching up my key, I slipped from my bedroom, locked it, and took off through the school.

The lights were on still, but it was absolutely silent. No one was out in the open, and if I had to guess, it was only me and the bear awake right now. The dining hall was out of bounds, so if I were to find Chihiro then-"I could've sworn he'd be here." I checked the bathhouse, but he wasn't there. I would've thought that, with all of the pressure, he'd try and get as much done with Alter Ego as he could. _I doubt he'd go to his room, after seeing how scared I was hours ago._ _But if he's not_ _in either of those places_ _... then..._ "the locker room."

It was the only other option I could think of, because of my friend's quest to be stronger. If he went at nighttime, when everyone was asleep, then he wouldn't have to fear about anyone finding out the truth. Even with me saying that being strong-willed was enough... I had to check. I had to.

Escaping to the school side, I moved up the stairs through the ominous quiet space. I came to a rest in front of the door to the pool, and slowly opened it up. The lights were on, and both doors to the locker rooms, male and female, remained closed. "Chihiro?" I called out, keeping myself quiet. The whirring sound of the camera overhead told me that Monokuma was now watching, but besides him, nobody else was in the room. "Are you... here?"

"And I am strong...! Strong, strong, strong, strong..." I heard a voice, deeper than Chihiro's echo from within the male locker room. Curiously, I moved closer to inspect the noise. My feet barely made a sound against the brown floor, and I could see something small, perhaps a pencil, sticking out from the door frame. The item was small enough I couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it prevented it from being locked by the electronic system. _It's not... closed._ "Stronger than you..." my feet sped up, and I neared the adjacent entrance. "And stronger than my g-!"

I opened the door... and froze.

Mondo, towering over my friend Chihiro, held a dumbbell preparing to crush his head in.

"M-Mondo!? What are you-stop!?" I dashed forward, and ripped Chihiro away from the taller teen, who was stunned in place. Mondo's arm was just moving forward when I had run in, and cried out my name in shock. The dumbbell fell from his hand as he stumbled back, giving a loud thud as it hit the floor. My breathing matched the others, being rapid and uncertain. What the heck did I walk in on!? He was about to murder Chihiro!? "You-you were going to kill hi-her!?"

"I-I..." Mondo couldn't speak, keeping his eyes down at his hands, which trembled violently. "God, what was-I didn't mean to!" Chihiro tugged on my coat, as I had pushed him behind me.

"Matsuko, how did you know where I was?" He asked. _R-_ _r_ _ight, I was looking for him._

"You weren't in the bedroom. I woke up, and when I saw you slipped out I went in search." I turned back to Mondo. "Thank goodness I did." I moved forward, and studied the biker. He didn't look as if he was ready to kill Chihiro, despite of what I had seen. What I had heard when I had entered the first room, however, sounded... off. Stronger? Stronger than who? "Mondo, did you mean to try and kill Chihiro?"

"... no," came the reply. "I didn't." His light purple eyes met my own, and I saw his jaw was clenched shut, and tears were on his cheeks.

As much as I wanted to slap him, t-to do anything, I... I didn't know how to react. I witnessed Leon's execution, and my mind went blank. I saw Junko's, and I passed out. In times like this, everything went... dull, and mute. "Then explain what happened. Both of you."

"... it was my fault." Mondo and I turned to Chihiro, who had spoken up. "I-I wanted to get stronger, a-and I thought Mondo would have been able to help me. I-I don't just want to be stronger mentally, Matsuko. I want to be physically stronger to... to... to protect you." My heart plummeted at, and it looked like Mondo wasn't expecting that either.

I... this had to do with what I had said not that long ago, when I... revealed the injury Monokuma gave me. How... he couldn't help me, and that I wanted to keep him safe. "To... protect me. Then doesn't that mean-Mondo, you know that-?" Mondo nodded, stopping me from finishing.

"That's he's a dude, yeah," he admitted. His usual loud tone had died down considerably, and his head was still hanging low. "I didn't want to kill him." He straightened up, inhaled... and rammed a fist into the wall beside him. Chihiro and I flinched, seeing the sizable dent now in the plaster. "I was such a weakling! Pathetic!" He looked over to us, and I saw his shoulder muscles start to relax again. _Please, don't do anything like that to us. I like my face as it is._ "You were brave, Chihro. Much more braver than I ever was."

I had no idea what that meant, but seeing the timing of it all... was it about his secret? Was that why he was repeating that word over, and over again? "I almost crushed your head in... because you were brave." He was holding back a sob, trying to keep his demeanor in check. But... but he was broken. It hurt, seeing the vulgar biker crumble in front of us. "Please, forgive me."

"O-of course I do, Mondo." _He did?_ Chihiro moved closer, and smiled gently. "I don't hate you, a-and... and I wouldn't hate you even if you did kill me." Mondo sucked in a breath, and I gripped Chihiro's hand in case I had to move him away again. _Wasn't there something else I wanted to-oh!_

"Chihiro... did you leave the door open then? In case something like this happened?" Chihiro let go of my hand, and turned to give me a look of confusion. Even Mondo, who still wasn't fully back to his normal self, gave me a weird look.

"N-no. Mondo and I never left it open." They looked at each other, and slowly turned to the door to the pool. _If neither of them did it..._ "you don't think...?" Mondo pushed past us, and wrenched the door open. As it slammed into the blue wall, we hurried out to see the deck. Mondo came a halt, just short of the edge of the pool itself. Bleachers were on either side, with a lifeguard chair on one side, and diving lanes set up. The darkness prevented us from seeing to the other side of the large room, but I could make out blue and white triangular banners going over the pool for decoration. I moved around him, seeing what had stopped him in his tracks... and everything went cold.

There was someone lying at the surface of the pool, with their arms draped over one of the blue and white dividers for the lanes. Chihiro, still behind us, hurried to the wall and flicked on the lights. And what we all saw...

Hiro's drowned body, with a blue face lacking any sign of breathing, stared emptily back. His right hand was shown to be twisted, broken, as it was shoved into one of the gaps in between the pool divider's plastic pieces. Bloodshot eyes, red from the chlorine and his mouth partially submerged in the pool itself. The liquid passed through and down his throat, but it didn't even matter now.

The psychic teen; the eldest out of all of us, who was always so mellow and easygoing... was gone. The gruesome and alarming sight triggered horrified and almost primal from Chihiro and me, and a look of dazed shock and horror from Mondo. "AAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Puhuhu! Looks like we won't be waiting to announce those secrets after all! Wake up, kiddos! Head on over to the pool, 'cause you've got a trial to prepare for!"

* * *

 **So, beside my rewriting and time trying to write this, school has also started up now. This is going to be another thing that will put back updates. Hope you're all fine with that.**

 **I also think I use a little too many commas, but whatever.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	9. Author's Note

**I'm sorry to say that this story will be discontinued. Not that I didn't enjoy writing it, but I've had trouble figuring out where to go from here. I have ideas, but it's difficult to put them together. It's just bits and pieces with no exact connection. Thank you for showing interest in what I did write, and maybe I'll return to finish it one day.**

 **Angel**


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